New Girl on Set
by GingerFlight
Summary: When Bella Lambert wins a contest, she comes to stay on the set of So Random! for a week. And when she sees how Chad and Sonny like each other, she decides to hook them up. It'll be easy, right? Wrong! A Channy story, of course. Better summary inside.
1. The contest

**Summary: Bella Lambert, a fifteen year old from Louisiana, gets the chance of a lifetime when she wins a free week on the set of **_**So Random!**_** After arriving, Bella immediately strikes up a friendship with the cast (well, most of them, anyway), and also notices how perfect Sonny and Chad are together. She sees that they like each other but never admit it, so she decides to hook them up. After all, she has a whole week to do it. How hard could it be? **

**Yeah, I suck at summaries, but it's much better than it sounds. And this is my first story for **_**Sonny with a Chance **_**and my first story that includes humans, so please don't flame me! *hides***

**Anywho, the story will mostly be told from Bella and Sonny's point of view. And maybe Chad's, but I'm not sure about that yet. S**_**ooooo**_**... enjoy the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone except Bella, her mother, and the plot.**

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Bella's POV

I stared at the TV, bouncing up and down on Mom's old red sofa as I waited for the stupid commercial to finish. I didn't want to hear about some guy selling cars, I wanted to continue watching my favorite show, _So Random!_!Of course, today was different, because today was the day they were going to say who won the _So Random! _contest.

See, during one of their shows, the executive producer (I keep forgetting his name) stepped in and first announced that there was a contest going on. All you had to do was call the number at the bottom of the screen and give them your name and phone number. They would write all the names of everyone who called on some strips of paper (which was probably a lot of work), put them in a hat, and, after today's show, randomly pick one out. Whoever they chose would get a free week on the set of the show and would also get to make a guest appearance!

It has always been my dream to meet the cast and to act on a TV show, so I called the minute the announcement was finished. Which brings me back to myself on the sofa, still waiting impatiently for the commercial to finish. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my Mom poke her head into the living room. "Bella, lunch is ready."

"I'll be there in a minute," I called back, my eyes still glued to the TV.

Mom walked into the living room and plopped down beside me on the sofa, pulling off her stained white apron as she did so. Looking over at me, she smiled and ruffled my black hair. "Still waiting, huh?"

"Yup," I sighed, then turned to her, trying to distract myself. "What are we having for lunch?"

"Rice, baked chicken, and broccoli."

Broccoli. Mom knows I hate broccoli. I hope this isn't a bad sign. I glanced back at the television and frowned. The car commercial was done, but it'd been replaced with a noodle commercial.

"Mom, do you think there's a chance I might win?" I asked her, hoping she would say something to make me feel less jittery.

She gave me a small hug. "Of course there is. And I bet you _will _win. Just wait and see. Now I'm going to check and see if the chicken's still warm, then I think I'm going to make cookies." She stood up, put on her apron, and left the room, saying over her shoulder, "Good luck!"

I giggled as she left. Mom loves to make cookies. She bakes, like, practically every day. We have a _lot_ of snickerdoodles that we haven't eaten yet. I've been trying to convince Mom to start selling her cookies to the neighbors or something, since there's no way we can eat all those cookies, but Mom always says something like 'Sorry, I zoned out there for a second, what'd you say?' And then she makes up an excuse to get away from me so she doesn't have to listen to my endless babbling, as she calls it.

Personally, I don't get why she doesn't start a business. I know I would. But I guess Mom and I are kind of different.

I was distracted from my thoughts as the announcer said, "We now return to _So Random!_!"

"Finally," I mumbled, continuing to stare at the television. On the screen, Nico was holding a microphone. Next to him, Grady was holding a really, _really _big black hat.

"Hey, everyone, if you've been waiting for the results of the contest, wait no longer!" Nico said in an announcer's voice. "We have all the names of everyone who entered in this hat!"

Grady snorted with laughter. "You said 'everyone who entered in this hat'. That's like them walking into a hat..."

Nico elbowed Grady, who said, "Oops, forgot we're on TV." He promptly stopped talking.

Nico cleared his throat and continued. "Now, the moment you're all been waiting for! Out of more than one million viewers, one person will be chosen to - "

I zoned out there for a bit. _More than one million people??? _I didn't think that many people would've called! I was never going to win now. There was no way. But maybe, just maybe... I clutched the sofa's armrests and leaned forward unconsciously, my eyes wide.

"The winner... is..." Nico paused. Grady put his hand into the hat.

_Please oh please oh please oh please... _I thought anxiously and closed my eyes.

"A rabbit?" Nico's voice made me open my eyes, and I gaped at the screen for a few seconds before laughing. Grady held a white rabbit in his hand, looking genuinely confused. Nico stared at the bunny and asked, "How'd that get there?"

"Uh... magic!" Grady said, waving his hand in the air dramatically, which made him drop the rabbit. I laughed hysterically as it hopped away, with Grady and Nico tripping over their feet to try and catch it. I wasn't sure if this was part of their act or not, but it was hilarious! And it definitely made me feel better. I wiped my hand over my eyes and managed to stop cackling. On the TV, Nico and Grady had gotten on their feet again. Nico cleared his throat, then said into the microphone, "Ok, for real this time, the winner is...."

I crossed my fingers.

Grady pulled a strip of paper out of the hat and handed it to Nico. There was a pause. Then -

"Bella Lambert!"

My jaw dropped. My eyes popped. After a few seconds of gaping at the television, I did the only logical thing to do; I screamed.

Right on cue my mom skidded into the living room, her apron flapping all over the place. "What happened, who died!?!?!?!" she yelled, waving a ladle in the air wildly. Goodness knows why she needed a ladle to bake cookies.

I hopped off of the sofa and jumped up and down. "No one died, but I won, Mom, I won!!!!!" I squealed.

The ladle clattered to the floor. Mom gasped, and then she started jumping up and down and squealing with me. We finally stopped long enough to hear Nico say, "And just in case Bella isn't watching right now, we'll be calling her to give her the good news."

This just started up the squealing again.

When the phone rang a few minutes later, I almost fell over in my eagerness to get to it. I grabbed it and said breathlessly, "Hello?"

"Is this Bella Lambert?" asked some guy on the other end.

I nodded wildly, then realized that the guy couldn't exactly see me so I said, "Yes."

"Well, then, congratulations! You're the winner of _So Random!_'s contest!" The man went on to give me instructions about how I'd have to catch a _private jet _on Sunday, which was in two days, and Marshall Pike (_that's _the executive producer's name!) would pick me up in a _limo _at the airport. And the best part was that it was _all completely free. _

"We can't wait to meet you in a few days, Bella!" the man said cheerfully.

"Yeah, bye," I said dazedly and hung up. I couldn't believe this was happening. I was going to HOLLYWOOD!!

Mom, who'd been listening in on the whole conversation, pumped her fist in the air and said, "I'm so happy for you, Bella! Although I'm going to miss you! It's going to be so boring here with you gone for a week!" She pulled me into a hug, then let go of me and grinned. "This calls for a victory dance! And some cookies!"

"Sure, Mom," I said, laughing. "But first I have to pack."

"I'll help you!" she said cheerfully, clapping her hands together.

"Um, sure, but what about your cookies?" I asked quizzically, raising an eyebrow.

She gasped. "Oh my gosh, my cookies! They've probably burned!!" She dashed back into the kitchen, yelling, "On second thought, I'll help you later!"

"Okee dokee!" I giggled, then danced through the hallway and into my room. I only had one thought on my mind. _Hollywood, here I come!!!!!_

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**So this chapter was basically just introducing Bella. The next chapter will be all in Sonny's POV.**

**Did you guys like it? Hate it? See something I should correct? Review, please!**


	2. Better Than Cable

**I finished this chapter really quickly. Not much happens here, it's just showing what goes on with the cast after the show. Sorry if it's boring. But it'll get better soon, I promise!**

**Well, enjoy!**

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Sonny's POV

A few hours after the show, I crawled out from under a table in the prop house and looked up at Nico and Grady, who were looking behind a plastic cactus. "Still haven't found the rabbit," I told them.

"Aw, man!" Grady sighed, standing up. "And I paid so much money for him!" His eyes widened. "What if he's stuck in a mouse hole? What if he's going to suffocate and we _never find him????_"

"Of course we're going to find him," I reassured Grady, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Then I glanced at Tawni, who was sitting on the sofa reading a new issue of _Tween Weekly_. Probably looking for a picture of herself, no doubt. "Tawni, aren't you going to help?" I asked, even though I knew what the answer would be.

She gave me a look, flipped her hair, and patted the blue dress she was wearing. "No, I don't want to get my pretty new dress torn while crawling all over on the floor. Because everyone knows that if my pretty dress gets ruined, I'll look less pretty!" She paused, then added, "Not as though that would be bad, since I'm _always _pretty, but - "

"Mmm hmmm," I cut in, then blinked at her. "Why are you even wearing a new dress, anyway? Are you going out on a date?"

"No, it just makes me look extra pretty, duh," Tawni told me slowly, like she was talking to a three year old. "Didn't I tell you that already?"

Why do I even ask such obvious questions? "Yeah," I said and went back to peering under the sofa.

"Who put the thing in the hat, anyway?" Nico asked, frowning at the rest of us.

"I didn't do it," I said.

"Me neither," Grady said.

Nico shook his head. We all looked at Tawni, who scoffed. "Well, it wasn't me! I wouldn't want to get hair all over my pretty dress!"

"Zora!" Grady and Nico yelled together.

I frowned. No way Zora did this. She would never do something as little as this. Her ideas were always big. Besides, she'd been inside the air vent during the whole show, doing... whatever she does in there. Definitely not her. "No, I don't think so. I know people, and Zora wouldn't do something like that. It had to be someone else."

We sat there, silent. Then Tawni gasped. "Oh my gosh!!!"

We scrambled over to her side. "What???"

"Did you figure out where the rabbit is?" I asked eagerly.

In answer, Tawni pushed the magazine in front of my face. "There aren't any pictures of me in here! See?? It's all of _Mackenzie Falls _and Chad Dylan Cooper!" She put her head in her hands and let out a dramatic sob.

As if on cue, Chad entered the room, smirking that stupid little smirk of his. "Hey, Randoms." He glanced over at me. "Sonny."

"Chad," I said coolly.

"So, did you guys like my little present?" Chad's addressed all of us.

"What present?" Nico looked confused.

"Was it lip gloss?" Tawni asked hopefully.

I understood before the rest of them. I stood up, glaring at Chad. He was such a jerk!! "_You _put the rabbit in the hat, didn't you!?"

Chad just grinned at me. I quivered with anger. Stupid, stupid Chad! I was mad at him, but I was also mad at myself, too. Why didn't I figure this out a few hours ago???? Urgh. "You know that rabbit could've ruined the show, right? What if it had hopped the wrong way and accidentaly knock the camera to the floor, making it break? What if it had crawled up Grady's sleeve and into his shirt???"

Chad raised his hands in defense. "Hey, it was just a joke, ok? It was only supposed to shock you guys." His grin widened. "But you just gave me some more ideas. Thanks, Sonny!"

I silently seethed at him. Chad really knows how to push my buttons. I mean, all he has to do talk and I'm already angry at him. He thinks that he's all that, but he isn't! Just because he's the star of a popular TV show, has a cool car, has girls fawning over him all the time, is really cute with that wavy blond hair and those amazing ocean blue eyes of his, and _what am I thinking???_

Now I've lost my train of thought. I don't even remember what my point was. Stupid Chad.

"So where is it now?" I asked, trying to sound calm, even though all I really wanted to do was slap him silly.

"Where's what?"

"The rabbit!!!!"

Chad suddenly produced a large shopping bag from behind his back and handed it to me. "Right here."

I looked inside. It was there, all right.

"I found it hopping around in the hallway, so I just took it. Hope you guys don't mind." Chad explained, still smirking. As though we even cared how he found it. I was just glad we had it back. My legs were beginning to hurt after crawling around on the floor for the past few hours. I silently handed the shopping bag to Grady, who jumped in delight. "Mr. Fluffums!! You're back!"

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Fluffums?"

Grady hugged the rabbit to him and glared daggers at Chad. "Don't insult him!" he hissed.

Chad just rolled his eyes and looked back at me. "Anyway, if I'd known it would make you all this upset I wouldn't have done it."

I folded my arms across my chest and frowned at him, annoyed. "What're you saying, Chad?"

For a second I could've sworn that he looked embarrased. But it was probably my imagination. "I guess I'm trying to say that I'm... sorry."

Everyone in the room gasped. Tawni actually dropped her magazine and gawked at Chad. Even I was stunned. So stunned that my annoyance faded a tad. "Did Chad Dylan Cooper just _apologize_??"

"Yup." Chad chuckled and gave me a genuine smile.

"Never thought I'd see the day," I mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant, but I was actually really touched. Chad hardly ever apologizes, and the fact that he just had was very sweet. But was he apologizing to all of us or just to me? I couldn't help but hope it was the latter. Not that I care. Because I don't.

Chad coughed. "Yeah, well, don't tell anyone, because my reputation would be ruined if this information leaked out."

I rolled my eyes. The old Chad was back. "Don't worry, we won't. Are you done?"

"Yes."

"Good, because I was just about to ask you to leave."

"Good, because I was just going to leave!" he shot back.

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Goo - !"

"Would you two quit it already?" Tawni asked boredly, picking up her magazine again.

Chad promptly turned and left the prop house. I watched him leave, secretly sad to see him go. But that meant nothing. I sat down by Tawni on the sofa and watched Nico and Grady bicker about something. I jumped when I heard a _MOO! _a few seconds later. Grabbing my cellphone off the table, I pressed the _talk _buttonwithout looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Good!" came Chad's voice at the other end.

"Good!" I yelled back into the cellphone and snapped it shut. I put it back on the table, folded my arms across my chest, and huffed.

"Dude, Sonny, you and Chad are better than cable," Grady told me from across the room.

I frowned at him.

"I'm not helping, am I? Yeah..." He turned away.

I sighed. I had to distract myself from thinking about Chad. After we talk it's always hard to get him out of my head. Which still means nothing. The only reason he's in my head is because I'm irritated with him. Yeah.

I faced Tawni and asked, "So.... what do you think this Bella Lambert will be like?"

"Hopefully not as pretty as me," Tawni said as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because if she _is_ as pretty as me, she'll try to upstage me, and then Mr. Condor will kick me off the show, and there'll never be a Tawnitown!"

That was one of Tawni's biggest fears. That someone would take her place on the show and ruin her dream of making Tawnitown.

"Yeah, but what do you think she'll be like?" I continued. "Do you think she'll be nice? Happy all the time? A helping person?"

"Just what he need, another Sonny on the set," Tawni scoffed.

I ignored her. "But what if she's like Chad? A rude, obnoxious, self-absorbed snob?"

"If she is we'll get Zora to lock her up somewhere." Tawni said absentmindedly, looking through the magazine again. "Honestly, Sonny, you're worrying way too much. Just do what I do. Relax, sit back, and admire yourself in front of the mirror! It'll help, trust me!""

I gave up then. Tawni obviously wasn't going to pay attention to me, so there wasn't any point in trying to talk to her. But at least now I have something to think about besides _him_. (I'm not saying _his _name, because that'll just make think about _him_ again.) I tried to picture what this Bella would be like. If she was nice, we would totally be the best of friends!

But if she was like _him_, then she might make a lot of trouble... but I'd just have to wait and see. After all, she was only going to be here for a week. What could possibly go wrong?

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**...This wasn't my best chapter. But I hoped you guys liked it! Sorry if anyone was a bit OOC. It's hard to get all of them to stay in character.**

**So... any constructive criticism? Remember, that review button likes to be pressed... **


	3. Not all it's cracked out to be

**I finally made the third chapter! Although not much happens in here either... **

**Anyway, I've never ridden a private jet in my life, and I hardly pay attention when I go to the airport, so most of the stuff in this chapter was just based on guesswork. I probably got some things wrong in here, but oh well. So... enjoy!**

**Oh, and thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted! It means a lot! XD**

**Disclaimer: I own nobody except Bella, her mother, Fred, and this other dude who's identity needs to remain a secret for now.**

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Bella's POV

Finally, after two days of packing, repacking, and freaking out, Sunday has arrived. I. Am. So. Excited.

Mom's going to drive me to the airport. Then it's goodbye Louisiana, hello California!!

But even though I'm dying to get on that _private jet _(I still can't get over the fact that it's completely free!), I feel bad about leaving Mom behind. She's happy for me, but I can tell that she's also sad to see me go, even though she doesn't say anything. I mean, besides us being mother and daughter, we're also best friends. She's depended on me a lot ever since Dad died in that car crash three years ago, and the thought of her being all alone in the house makes me feel like staying. But I can't just give this all up. I've wanted to be an actress since I was, like, five, and this could be my big break! Seriously, I heard about this guy who wanted to be a doctor, got the chance, and decided against it. He ended up being a plumber.

I do not want to spend the rest of my life as a plumber.

So, as much as I hate leaving my Mom, I _am _leaving and nothing is going to stop me. _Nothing_.

And I'm ranting, so I should probably stop.

Anyway, I was in my room, making sure that I had everything I needed in my suitcase. I mentally checked off every item in my head as I saw it. Toothbrush, check. Sunglasses, check. Clothes, check. Book to read for when I'm bored, che -

"Honey, are you ready?" Mom's voice called from down the hall.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec!" I called. I zipped up my suitcase, grabbed my purse, and rushed out of the room and over to the front hallway, where Mom was waiting.

"I made you some cookies to eat on the plane," she said, handing me a ziploc bag filled with snickerdoodles.

"It's a jet," I corrected her, grinning. "And thanks, Mom!" I took the bag and stuffed it in my purse. Then I looked up, frowned, and put my hands on my hips. "Just promise me one thing."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Please don't make any more cookies while I'm gone."

"But - " she began to whine, then saw me giving her the evil eye and muttered, "Fine. Jeez."

I grinned again and gave her a warm hug, then picked my suitcase and bounced out the door, calling happily, "Let's go!"

I stepped out onto the porch and glanced back at our big, clean white house. Ah, I would miss it. I waved a silent goodbye to the house, then turned and walked over to our van. I put my suitcase in the backseat, then climbed in and closed the door. I stared out the window and waited impatiently as Mom finished locking the front door, jogged over to the van, climbed into the front seat, and started the ignition. The van immediately hummed to life, and then we were off!

I sank back into my seat, feeling giddy with excitement. I couldn't wait to get to the airport! Which was a good thing, because it didn't take long to get there (our house was only a few miles away from it). In what seemed like five minutes we had arrived. I didn't really pay much attention to what happened after we went inside. (I've only been to the airport twice in my life. I never paid attention those times either.) I remember going into the airport and Mom talking to this lady that worked there, but I was too absorbed in my thoughts to listen. Mom whisked me away to the place where all those people wait for their planes (I forgot what it's called. The waiting room? Egh, whatever.), then turned to look at me. "When your plane gets here - " she began.

"Jet," I corrected automatically.

" - the people at the front desk will call your name over the loudspeaker. You'll go over to meet them, and somebody will bring you outside and over to the pl - jet. Can you remember that?"

"Yes, Mom," I told her wearily. Gosh, I know all this stuff already, she doesn't need to remind me.

"Do you want me to stay here with you until the jet arrives?" Mom asked fretfully.

"No, Mom, I'm fine," I told her soothingly, then patted her on the shoulder. "You should leave now before you have a breakdown," I added jokingly. Crummy joke, I know, but it still made her smile.

That is the mark of a true bond between a mother and her daughter. When the mother laughs at the daughter's horrible jokes.

"Yeah, I should probably go now." She gave me a tight hug. "I'll miss you so much, Bella."

"I'll miss you too, Mom," I said against her shoulder, then pulled back and smiled. "Bye."

She started to leave, then looked back. "You sure you don't want me to stay - ?"

_"Mommm...__"_

"Ok, ok." She gave me a sheepish grin. "Remember to call!" Then she turned and slowly walked off. I watched her go until she disappeared from view, then I sat down on a bench, took out the book I had packed, and began to read.

My book actually turned out to be pretty interesting, so it felt like only a few seconds had passed (even though it was more like an hour) when I heard a voice over the loudspeaker, saying, "Would Bella Lambert please report to the front desk?"

I closed my book and stood up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few teenagers gawk at me, their eyes wide. It wasn't hard to guess that they had watched the newest episode of _So Random!_, too. Why else would they be looking at me like that? Speaking of which, don't they know that it's rude to stare??? Jeez. I grabbed my suitcase, pretending to ignore the teens, and walked off, determinedly not looking at anyone.

When I arrived at the front desk, a bored looking woman glanced up from a load of paperwork. "Yes?" she asked dully.

"Um, I'm Bella Lambert," I told her.

"Uh huh. And I'm sure those people are Bella Lambert too," she said, pointing to a different group of about nine teenagers that I just now noticed. All of them were girls, and they were staring at me apprehensively.

"What do you mean?" I had no clue what the heck she was talking about.

"Those kids came over one my one and said their names were Bella Lambert. And I don't think all of them can have the same name now, can they?"

Good grief. Some people are really desperate.

I opened my purse and dug inside it, then pulled out my passport. "Look, here's my passport."

The woman opened it, looked at it, then handed it back to me. "Right, follow me," she said, still sounding bored.

I walked after her as she led me down another hallway, where she opened a metal door that led outside. As I walked out, a strong gust of wind whipped my hair around my face. I fished around inside my purse for a scruncie, then tied my hair in a ponytail. "So where's the jet?" I asked eagerly, turning to the place where the lady had stood a few moments ago. But she was gone, and the metal door was closed. She'd obviously gone back inside.

She could've at least said something like, 'I'm gonna go inside now, your jet's over there, goodbye.' But _noooooo_, she went right back in without saying a word. How rude.

Well, I wasn't just gonna stand here and let the hot wind blow in my face. I walked around the corner of the building, looking for someone who could possibly show me the way to my private jet. Turns out I didn't have to bother, since the first thing I noticed was the big, purple jet that had the words _SO RANDOM! _painted on its side in big yellow letters. The second thing I noticed was... well, I didn't really notice anything else, to be honest.

_Well, that was easy to find, _I thought.

I jogged over to the silent jet and glanced around to see if anyone was here. Apparently not. I climbed onto the step-ladder that was in front of the door of the jet and knocked. "Hello?" I called. No one answered.

Great. Just great. I was by myself out here. But maybe whoever controlled this thing was asleep. So I knocked again, harder this time. To my surprise, the door opened a cracked. I almost overbalanced, I was that shocked, but I caught myself on the railing of the step-ladder before I could fall onto the cement. Steadying myself, I pushed open the door farther and poked my head inside. "Hello in there?" My voice came out sounding like a squeak.

No answer.

I felt like I was on one of those horror shows, where the girl goes inside the plane and finds the pilot's body lying on the floor. What if I found a dead body near the controls????? I bit my lip and mumbled, "Maybe the pilot fell asleep. Yeah." I stepped inside, trying to ignore the part of me that was beginning to freak out. I stared around the inside of the jet. It was kind of tight in here, but the seats looked very comfortable and bounceable. If it wasn't for the fact that I didn't have any adult supervision, I would probably be bouncing on the seats right about now, enjoying myself immensely.

I cautiously went into the place where the pilot flies the jet (I'm not an expert on flying machines, I have no idea what the place is called). The pilot's seat was in front of the control panel. Obviously. I was starting to feel nervous again. What if the pilot was sitting on the seat, out cold? I crept forward, and, after hesitating a bit, looked into the seat.

It was empty.

I was relieved. But then my relief disappeared, to be replaced by annoyance. If the pilot wasn't in here, where the heck was he?????

I got my answer when I heard a startled cry from the back of me. I whipped around and found myself staring at a plump, bearded guy with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand. He was staring at me, his mouth open. I stared back at him with wide eyes. Then the plump guy seemed to realize that he was goggling at me, and he promptly closed his mouth, his face reddening. "What are you doing up here?" he growled in a rough voice. Something told me he was just acting tough to scare me.

Well, it was working.

I cleared my throat. "Um, I was looking for the pilot," I said shrilly. I cleared my throat again, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks.

"I'm the pilot," the dude said.

That was unexpected. "You're the pilot?" I repeated stupidly.

"Yeah, I just said that." His eyes narrowed. "Who're you?"

My temper flared up immediately, and I placed my hands on my hips. "I'm Bella Lambert, the girl who won a free trip to Hollywood. I've been here for the past fifteen minutes, alone, freaking out because I thought you'd been kidnapped or something! Why weren't you here??" (I know I probably sounded a bit harsh, but I had been really scared for a few moments there.)

I took a deep breath, ready to continue my rant, then noticed the guy was chuckling. "Why're you laughing???" I glared ferociously at him.

"Because you thought I was kidnapped," the man managed to choke out. "And I was just getting some lunch." He held up the sandwich.

Oh. It never occurred to me that he might be getting food. Dang... I tried to think of something else to defend myself with. "Yeah, but you could've put a note on the door that said 'Out to lunch'!"

"Didn't have any paper. And I didn't expect you to get here this early." Before I could even open my mouth, he continued, "Yeah, I knew you might arrive before I got back, so I kept the door unlocked, took out the key that starts the jet, and went back in to get a sandwich. I was hoping you'd have the sense to be waiting on the seats, where you're supposed to be, not up here with the controls. Apparently I was wrong."

_Yeah, I know how it feels like to be wrong, buddy. _I crossed my arms and muttered grumpily, "Fine, you win."

He chuckled again. "Well, now that I'm here, you can go back to your seat. We'll be leaving in a few minutes. Oh, and by the way, my name's Fred. Fred McMurry."

"Great to meet you, Fred," I grumbled sarcastically, still in a bad mood, then went back to my seat. I plopped down, put my suitcase on the floor, and stared out the window. I still felt really stupid. I can't believe I hadn't thought that he might've gone to get lunch.

I looked at my watch and frowned. It was only around ten A.M. Lunch at that time? What was up with that??

Well, I guess some people eat their lunch early. Not me, though. I wasn't at all hungry.

After a while I got over the whole ordeal, but Fred and I still didn't talk that much. I just did my thing during the whole ride, and he did his. No interaction whatsoever. (Well, except for when I had to go to the bathroom. Then I had to ask, 'Where's the bathroom?' and he said 'In the back'. That was pretty much it.)

I wasn't as excited as I had been earlier. This private jet thing isn't all it was cracked out to be. Sure, it was exciting when I first got on (not to mention scary), but after bouncing on my seat for a while, the ride got pretty boring. I mean, if I hadn't brought my book and my iPod, I would have died of boredom.

I just hope I'm not in for another disappointment when I get to Hollywood.

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**Yeah, not much happens here... pretty boring. I'll try to put more effort into the next chapter.**

**Well, did you like it? Or hate it? Or sorta like it but think there's something wrong? Review and tell me, please!**


	4. Meeting Bella

**Today I started junior high. I am officially a 7th grader. Urgh... But I don't feel like talking about this, it's depressing. Moving on.**

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far. I had a hard time writing halfway through, because I had a bit of a writer's block, but I managed to get it done. Phew. **

**I enjoyed writing this, though, especially from Bella's point of view. It's fun to write about her! X3 And now you're probably annoyed because I'm babbling and keeping you from reading the story, so just ignore me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny with a Chance. I just own Bella. And all the other people I made up.**

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Bella's POV

"Hey, kid, wake up. We're here."

I groggily opened one eye. Who said that? Surely not the snickerdoodle cookies dancing the conga that I'd just been dreaming about? I peered upward and saw a bearded face. Oh. "You're not a cookie," I mumbled. It came out sounding like 'Yo novva cookeh', but apparently that Fred guy understood anyway.

"No, I'm not, and I hope I'll never be one," he said, chuckling a bit. "Now come on, we're in California already."

I closed my eye again. "Leave me alone," I grumbled.

There was silence. Good, he'd left. Now maybe I could continue sleeping...

Just as I was thinking that, I heard a shrill scream. I jumped, my eyes popping open, and stared around. "Omigosh, who screamed, did someone die?????????" I gasped. Then I frowned and narrowed my eyes at Fred, who was standing next to me, grinning and holding a small whistle in one hand. "Nice of you to wake up," he laughed.

I groaned. "What time is it?" As I asked, I looked down at my watch. It said one something PM.

"It's eleven twenty," Fred told me.

"Huh?" I looked back at my watch, wondering if the battery had died. Then I remembered the time chance between Louisiana and California. Urgh. Stupid time change. Why can't it just be the same time everywhere? We'd get so many more things accomplished that way.

Seriously. Time change is like mosquitos. We don't need it and we'd be better off without it. (The same goes for global warming. Just thought I'd add that in.)

But this is all just my opinion. Don't sue me just because I'm expressing my opinion.

Moving on.

I frowned at Fred. "Ok... so why'd you wake me up again?"

"Because we're here."

Shoot. I was asleep when we landed. That just sucks. See, my favorite parts of plane rides are when we take off and when we land, 'cuz the plane just starts to go really, really fast, and it's so exhilarating!!! Kinda like a roller coaster, except for the fact that I'm afraid of roller coasters.

And what was I talking to Fred about again? Oh, yeah.

"Right..." I nodded, finally understanding, then I got up and grabbed my suitcase from under my seat. Then I checked my purse to make sure everything was still there (I mean, Fred seems like I nice guy and all, but you never know... some seemingly nice guys like to rob people of their wallets... all my stuff was still in my purse, of course, but it doesn't hurt to check.), then I walked over to Fred, who was waiting by the door. He opened it and gestured with his hand. "Ladies first."

"I'm not a lady, I'm a girl," I corrected him. "And even when I'm an old woman, I'll still be a girl. Just on the inside."

"Whatever you say." Fred grinned. Every time I talk to him he's usually grinning. He must find me amusing. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I climbed out of the jet and onto the concrete, then looked around. On my left was a really big building, which I took to be the airport, and on my right was nothing except the runway where all the planes go to take off and land, and also -

Ooh, look, a white limo! I wonder who got married?

Oh, wait. That's _my _limo.

I can be so stupid sometimes.

As I was berating myself for being stupid, a guy climbed out of the limo. He was short, kinda pudgy, and he was wearing a black suit with a red tie. The first thought that popped into my mind was that he looked like some sort of secret agent, except he wasn't wearing sunglasses and he had no spy gear on him. And also because he looked too distracted and friendlyish to be an agent.

So this was Marshall Pike.

"Are you Bella Lambert?" he asked, glancing down at the golden watch on his wrist.

"Yup," I said, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Pike."

"Please, call me Marshall," he told me, then turned to Fred, who had appeared beside me. "Did anything go wrong during the flight?"

"No."

"Good, good..." Marshall looked at his watch again. "Well, we'd better get going. Come on, Bella."

"Bye, Fred," I said, waving. He smiled at me in response, then turned and disappeared inside the jet.

I climbed into the limo after Marshall, who told the driver, "Let's go."

And then we were off!!!

We passed by so many places on the way to Condor Studios. I can't even begin to describe anything, it was just so amazing. Things were really looking up!

WHOO!!! I love Hollywood!!!

After watching the scenery for a while, I turned to Marshall, who was fidgeting in his seat and staring at his watch as though he expected it to punch him in the face.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why do you keep looking at your watch?"

"Eh? Oh, well, I have a date at 2:30."

I was still confused. "It's only eleven something right now, you have about three hours until your date. Why're you worrying?"

"Because Joy might switch the date time at any moment, and who knows when that'll be?" he said. "I might be late, and she'll never forgive me, and then who knows what might happen?" He gave me a dark look.

Um. Well, as much as I love romantic situations, I didn't really want to get involved in this. So I just said 'Ok' and quit talking.

I was getting really nervous. I would soon be meeting the cast of _So Random!_! AH!!!! I'm so excited!! And I get even more excited when I think about meeting my role model, Sonny Munroe! I mean, she lived a long way from California, and now she's in Hollywood, making her dream a reality! Ever since she joined the show I've admired her. She's an amazing actress and she seems like a good person. I've always wanted to be meet her. (Well, not always, but you get the point.) And now it's finally happening!!

I feel like jumping up and down. But there's no way to do that because then my head would hit the roof of the limo. But maybe I can stick my head out the top or something. I think there's a way to do that...

Just when I was about to ask Marshall about it, he said, "We're here."

I whirled around and looked out the window. Yes! We were here!!! We'd arrived at Condor Studios!!!!!! I stuffed my hand in my mouth to stop myself from hyperventilating. When the limo stopped, I flung open the door and hopped out. Marshall got out just as quickly. He was in a hurry too, I guess, but not for the same reason as me.

When we went inside, I wasn't really looking around, I was too busy concentrating on breathing slowly. Then, while we were walking down a hallway, I stopped in my tracks. "Hey, Marshall, where am I going to be staying for a whole week?" I asked him. "I don't have to go to a hotel, do I?"

"No!" He looked shocked at the very mention of a hotel. "You'll be staying in one of empty rooms here. We just took out some props that were in there and put in a bed. Your room will be easy to find, since it's near the set and also close to Tawni and Sonny's dressing room," he added.

It was getting really hard to breathe slowly, I can tell you that.

We'd started walking again while we were talking, and I wasn't aware that Marshall had stopped until I bumped into him. Looking over, I saw that we were right next to a plain white door with a sign on it that said 'Reserved'.

"Here's your room," Marshall told me. I opened the door and stepped inside. I gasped in pleasure. In the corner was a very bounceable looking bed with red sheets (red is my favorite color!!!). Next to the bed was a bureau that had a medium sized mirror above it. Beside the bureau was a chair looked really soft and comfortable, and on the right was a TV! A wonderful flat screen TV! And a computer right next to it!!

It's like these people know me even though they don't know me!!! Does that make sense? Either way, I love this room! But I'll love it even more when I fix it up a bit. Until then...

I leapt onto the bed and sat on it, bouncing up and down. "This is great!" I beamed. "Thanks, Marshall!"

"Don't thank me," Marshall said, glancing at his watch again. Suddenly, I heard a _RING! _and stared at Marshall, because that's where the noise seemed to be coming from. He dug inside his pocket and pulled out a cellphone, then held it up to his ear. "Hello?" Pause. "Oh, hi Joy!" Pause. "Uh huh. Uhhhh huh..." Another pause. "Ok, bye, Joy!" He hung up and turned to me. He looked relieved. "Our date time was changed to 3:30. She remembered that she had to grade some papers. So I don't have to hurry!"

I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just gave him a thumbs up.

"So are you ready?" he asked cheerfully.

"For what?"

"To meet the cast."

I jumped off the bed, almost tripping over my own feet in excitement. "Totally!"

Oh, yes, things were definitely looking up.

Sonny's POV

I flipped through the _Tween Weekly _magazine that Tawni had been looking at two days ago, annoyed that _Chad _took up most of the pages. What do people see in him? He isn't as great as everyone thinks he is. Take it from someone who knows.

"When was Marshall supposed to get back again?" Grady asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

"He should be getting here anytime," I answered, turning the page. Finally, tired of seeing Chad's face appearing on practically every single page, I put down the magazine. "So what do you think this Bella will be like?"

"Please, Sonny, not that again," Tawni groaned. "You've been talking about it for the past two days."

That was true. But I was dying of curiosity here! How could I not talk about it? I mean, I know I've mentioned this before, but what if she's like Chad? Or worse????? What if she's like Dakota?????? (And no, I'm not talking about Dakota Fanning, I'm talking about Mr. Condor's evil little daughter.)

If we don't think about these things, we won't be prepared. And we have to be prepared. I've learned that from experience.

But before I could continue, Nico ran into the prop house. (He'd been watching in the hallway to see if Marshall was coming.) He looked excited. "He's coming! Marshall's coming! And I caught a glimpse of the girl, and she is - !"

"Don't tell us!" I interrupted him before he could reveal anything. "It has to be a surprise!"

Nico just shrugged. "Fine."

"Now, just act normal, everyone!" I said shrilly. I snatched up the magazine and pretended to read it, not even noticing that it was upside down.

Tawni took out a small mirror and looked into it, exclaiming, "I'm bored _and _pretty!"

Nico and Grady just babbled about something I couldn't hear.

And Zora... well, she was in her sarcophagus.

I heard the shuffling of feet out in the hallway, then Marshall bounded into the room. "I'm back, kids!" he said.

All of us stopped what we were doing (including Zora, who finally got out of the sarcophagus) and let out a chorus of 'Hi, Marshall!'.

"So... are you ready to meet the new girl?" he asked, beaming.

We all nodded. Well, except for Tawni, who looked a bit sour.

Marshall hesitated, then said, "This isn't dramatic enough. Can someone give me a drumroll?"

"Ooh, ooh, I will!!!" Grady ran behind the purple cactus and dragged out a set of drums that I didn't even know we had. He picked up the drumsticks and began banging on the drums wildly. No offense to Grady, but it was horrible. Everyone winced and covered their ears until Grady had finished.

There was silence. Then Marshall said, "That was the worst drumroll I ever heard, but it'll have to do." He turned and waved his hands in the air for a dramatic effect. "Introducinggggg.... Bella Lambert!"

Nothing happened.

Marshall noticed that we were all just staring at him blankly, so he turned and muttered something that sounded like, 'That's your cue'.

A girl around my age stepped into the prop house, looking nervous and excited. Wow. Tawni must be really disappointed, because this girl was very pretty. She had wavy black hair that curled down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. I was reminded of Chad for a second there, but her eyes weren't like his. Chad's eyes are ocean blue. Hers were lighter in color and softer looking. Her big eyes and flushed face gave her a sweet appearance. She was wearing a green T shirt, jeans, and red sneakers, and she was carrying a small red purse. Very casual. Most people who come to meet us tend to overdress, because they want to impress us.

Overall, she looked like a nice girl. But Dakota looked like a nice girl too, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Bella gawked at us for a few seconds, then she beamed and bounced over to me. "Hi, Sonny!" she said cheerfully. "Wow, I'm finally meeting you! You're my role model, you know! Do you think I could get your autograph later?"

Woah. I'm a role model. I mean, I knew that I was a role model to some people, but I never actually thought about it much until now. That made me feel cheerful. Either way, Bella sounded nice, too, so I was starting to doubt that she was at all like Dakota or Chad.

"Sure," I told her, and she grinned, then walked over to Tawni. "And Tawni Hart!" she gushed. "This is so cool! You and Sonny were awesome in the Check It Out Girls sketch, by the way," she added.

I glanced over at Tawni, who was smiling. But I knew her well enough to know that it was a fake smile.

Bella went on to greet everyone else. She shook hands with Nico and Grady and told them that she thought they were hilarious. They didn't say much, they just stared at her with dreamy looks in their eyes. Then she greeted Zora, who gave her a suspicious look then drew back, disappointed.

Now Bella started jumping up and down. "This is so exciting!" she babbled. "I just can't believe I'm meeting you all! This is the best day ever!!" Then she stopped hopping and looked over at Marshall. "Say, where's the bathroom? I need to go..." She coughed in embarrassment.

"Oh, it's down the hall, I'll take you there. We'll be back, kids," he told us, then left with a beaming Bella.

The minute the two of them had gone, Tawni's smile disappeared. "I can't believe this!" she ranted. "Where does that girl come from, Trying-To-Ruin-Tawni's-Career Land??????"

"Tawn - " I tried to say, but she went on as though she hadn't heard me.

"This is horrible! Why did Marshall have to make us have a contest, _why???? _Does he _hate _me or something???????? Now Mr. Condor is going to kick me off the show!!"

"Tawni, he's not going to kick you off the show," I scoffed. "Bella's just going to be here for a week. And besides, she seems really sweet."

"Oh, she may look sweet, but she's probably a show-stealing, Tawni-hating, evil girl!!!!" Tawni snapped.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Zora. "Zora, did you get an evil vibe from Bella?"

"No," she replied, still looking disappointed.

"See?" I turned to Tawni. "She isn't evil."

Tawni folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "That's what you think. Zora's probably wrong."

As if Zora would be wrong. But I might as well humor Tawni. Turning to Zora, I asked, "Do you think you could do something to check if Bella's as nice as she looks?"

Zora perked up instantly. "With pleasure!" she grinned, rubbing her hands together and letting out a cackle.

That girl can be really scary sometimes...

At that moment, Bella and Marshall returned, and we stopped talking. Marshall looked at us, then at Bella, then back at us. "Well, I'm gonna go now. If you need anything, just call." And he walked out of the prop house, whistling.

Zora immediately yelled, "All right, Bella, sit down on the couch!"

Bella looked confused, but sat down beside me on the couch. Zora paced in front of us for a few seconds, then grabbed a flashlight off the table, switched it on, and pointed it at Bella.

"Today you are going to answer some questions, to check if you are evil or not. If you answer the questions correctly, we will leave you in peace. If you don't, we will be forced to lock you in the sarcophagus," Zora said in a serious voice.

Bella blinked. "Um... ok..."

"Question one!" Zora shouted, making us all jump. "Is Bella your real name?"

"Uh... yeah."

"What is your favorite show on TV?"

"_So Random!_."

"Do you or do you not like _Mackenzie Falls_?"

Bella frowned at that one. She seemed to be getting more puzzled by the second, but she answered anyway. "No. I actually think it's lame. I can't even tell what it's about."

I snorted with laughter but managed to pass it off as a loud cough.

Zora scowled at me. "Ok, then. Next question. What is your honest opinion of Chad Dylan Cooper?"

"What does this have to do with me being evil or not?" Bella asked.

"I ask the questions here!" Zora snapped. "Again, what is your honest opinion of Chad Dylan Cooper?"

Bella took a while to answer, but she finally said slowly, "Well, from what I've read and seen, Chad seems like a guy who... likes to talk about himself a lot. I mean, I don't know what he's like, because I haven't met him yet, but that's just what I've gathered from all the interviews I've seen."

Well, that sounded honest. And what she knew about him was definitely right on the mark.

Zora sighed. "Ok, let's continue. What kind of person would you describe yourself as?"

Bella answered very quickly for this one. "Happy and eager. And sometimes I get really hyper when I eat too much chocolate. And Mom says I like to talk. And - no, wait, that's all..."

"And what is your goal in life?"

Bella's eyes sparkled as she answered this one. "To become a famous actress! And also to rid the world of mosquitos, but I don't think that will ever happen."

"Do you have a boyfriend???" Nico asked eagerly.

We stared at him.

"I know this has nothing to do with it, but I was just wondering," Nico mumbled.

"Well, then, no, I don't," Bella told him. Nico looked hopeful, but his face fell when she added, "But I don't want to have any relationships at the moment."

Hehe, better luck next time, Nico.

Zora sighed again and switched off the flashlight. "You passed," she said in a monotone. (You could tell she had been hoping Bella would fail.)

Bella continued to look confused, then she shrugged and said simply, "Sweet."

I glanced at Tawni, who was sulking. Well, I guess I can't convince her right now, but I'm positive that Bella is nice. And I know people. (Yeah, I was wrong about Dakota, but she isn't considered as a person. So she doesn't count.)

I'm going to do everything I can to make this a great week for her!

"So what do you guys want to do now?" I asked, looking around at the others.

There was silence.

Grady grinned. "Anyone wanna get some lunch? I'm starving!"

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**Haha, I got the idea of Bella's dream from a dream I once had too. (Except the cookies were dancing the tango. XD)**

**So after this chapter, the fun really begins... I haven't planned everything out yet, but it's going to be exciting... -insert evil laughter here- But did you guys like it? Review and tell me what you think! I'd especially love some constructive criticism.**

**Oh, yeah, and since school's starting I probably won't be able to update as much as usual, but I'll try my best. That's all I have to say.**


	5. In Denial

**Ok, so things are starting to move along in this chapter... I think you guys'll like it. (At least, I hope so.) I don't have much else to say, and I don't want to waste your time, so I'll just stop talking now.**

**Disclaimer: I think we've established that I don't own SWAC...**

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Sonny's POV

I sat down at the cafeteria table with the others and looked down at the hotdog on my tray. Thank goodness we were having something edible today. Must be a good sign. I bit into my hotdog and looked at the others. Bella sitting next to me, eating happily. Next to her, Nico was staring at her hair with wide eyes. (He was so distracted that he didn't see Grady steal his hotdog. Hehe.) Tawni was also looking at Bella. More like glaring, actually, but Bella didn't seem to notice, which was good.

And Zora was doing her thing. I'm not sure what that is yet. But it was something.

Meanwhile, Bella finished eating her hotdog, leaned back against her chair, and patted her stomach. "That was good! Ooh, does anyone want some cookies?"

Nico snapped out of his reverie. "Cookies?"

"What kind????" Grady asked, his eyes lighting up.

Bella took a bag out of her purse. "Snickerdoodles. My mom made them for me, but you guys can have some if you want."

Grady snatched the bag and gazed at the cookies in delight. "It's so... beautiful," he gasped. He grabbed a cookie and took a huge bite, smiling goofily. "This is _so _good!"

"Mom'll be happy to hear that," Bella said, beaming with pleasure.

I took a cookie and bit into it. Wow, it was really good. Mmmmmmm... "Your mom made this?"

"Yeah. She loves to bake. It's one of her hobbies." Bella shrugged.

"I could eat this all day," I told her after taking another huge bite, which made her grin from ear to ear. I honestly don't know why Tawni still keeps insisting that she's evil. Bella's so nice! (Which I've mentioned before.)

Bella looked at Tawni and offered her the bag. "Do you want one, Tawni?"

"No thanks," Tawni said. "I'm full." The look in her eyes said something entirely different, though. _I'm not eating those, they're probably contaminated._

Yup, that's exactly what her eyes said. Bella seemed to sense this, because she drew back, looking hurt. "Oh. Ok."

I frowned at Tawni. She could at least _try _to be friendly. It reminded me of when I first came here, and Tawni didn't like me that much either. So there was some hope that she could get used to Bella, but _still_.

I was distracted from my thoughts when Bella turned around and yelped, "How come that guy get a steak!?"

I knew who she was talking about even before I turned around, and, sure enough, there was Chad, walking toward us with a delicious looking steak on his tray. Even though I was now pretty full, the smell made my mouth water.

"Hey, Randoms." He grinned cockily.

"Chad," I muttered. Why does he always have to come along and mess up everything?

Chad's gaze fell on Bella. "Who's this?" he asked, frowning.

"This is Bella, Bella Lambert," I said, glaring at him.

"Oh, yeah, the newest member of Chuckle City," he scoffed, then gave Bella a dazzling smile. "Hey, there. I'm sure you know this already, but I'm Chad Dylan Cooper."

Bella waved at him. "Hi."

Ha! The look on Chad's face was PRICELESS!!!! See, girls usually scream his name and swoon every time they meet him, but Bella had done the total opposite! Haha, go Bella!

Chad coughed. "Maybe you didn't hear me. I'm _the _Chad Dylan Cooper."

Bella gave him a steady look. "Yeah, I know."

Chad's mouth dropped open, and I had to struggle to keep my face straight. He closed his mouth and turned to glare at me. "What did you poison her mind with???" he hissed.

I smiled sweetly at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Chad. I didn't poison her mind with anything." My smile became a smirk. "Guess you can't handle the fact that some people just don't like you, huh?" I chuckled.

Chad's face was flushed with anger. "Pfft, no way! I don't care what people think about me, because Chad Dylan Cooper _never _cares what people think of him!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Well, then, good!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"So we're good?"

"Oh, we're so good!" Chad stalked away in a huff, and I sank back into my chair, smiling with triumph.

Bella's POV

I might've mentioned this before, but if there's one thing I love almost as much as comedy, it's romance. I'm a complete and total romantic. I love watching romantic movies and reading romantic books. I'm obsessed with anything that has romance in it.

So when I saw Sonny and Chad arguing, I knew, I _knew _that they liked each other. (Speaking of their argument, what's up with all those 'good' stuff? I really don't get it.) Sure, the magazines claimed that they were in love, but that was just a rumor. Magazines sometimes lie. But I'd seen the proof just now, right before my very eyes.

I mean, look at Sonny smiling over there! It's so obvious that she likes him!!!!

Even Selena Gomez knows!! _Selena Gomez!!!!_ I read in a magazine that she said they were 'perfect for each other'! _SELENA GOMEZ!!_

Ok, calm down, Bella. You've. Got. To. Calm. Down.

...Phew.

All right. I'll check with them. I'll go to both Sonny and Chad and casually bring up the subject. Yeah...

I was distracted when Nico told me, "Your hair is pretty. C - Can I touch it?"

"Huh?" I stared at him blankly. I hadn't even heard what he'd just said, since I was thinking about what a great couple Sonny and Chad would make. I'd already started making some couple names for them, like they did with Zanessa. Shad, Chonny, Channy... Ooh, I like Channy, it has a little ring to it... (Though I doubt I'm the first to make up that name, but so what??? I can dream, can't I?)

"Never mind," Nico mumbled.

I feel sorry for him, even though I have no idea what he's talking about. He seems to be having some sort of issues. Maybe I'll chat with him about it later. Maybe. It depends. "Yeah, ok. Hey, do you guys want to go back to the prop house now?"

Tawni immediately stood and stalked out. (She doesn't seem to like me that much. I wonder why? I'll try and figure it out later.) Nico and Grady followed. I don't know where Zora went. She disappeared while we were eating. Bet she went under the tables or something.

I lagged behind, knowing Sonny would wait for me, and sure enough she stopped in the hallway and asked, "You coming, Bella?"

I nodded. "Sure, let me just tie my shoelace." I bent down and pretended to fiddle with the shoelace, when I was actually thinking about how I'd talk to Chad. I glanced over at where he was sitting on the opposite side of the room. He was still eating his steak. From the way it looked, it would be a while before he finished. Good. Standing up, I jogged over to Sonny, trying to figure out what I was going to say...

Sonny's POV

I peeked at Bella out of the corner of my eye as we walked down the hall. She was silent, frowning down at her shoes.

Ok, I can tell when something's up. Also, this silence was starting to make me feel awkward. "Is anything wrong?" I asked her.

Her head snapped up. "Huh? No, I'm good." She stopped walking and cleared her throat. "Hey, Sonny, what were you and Chad doing back there?" When I gave her a blank look, she added, "I mean, with all that 'Good!', 'Good!', 'Good!' stuff?" Wow, she imitated our voices really well.

I rolled my eyes. "It's just kind of what we do."

"So... you both do that every day?" Her eyes widened.

"Sort of."

"Why?"

"Well, it's... complicated. He's complicated," I added under my breath, then gave Bella a quizzical look. "Why do you ask?"

She fiddled with a strand of her hair. "Oh, no reason. It's just that from the way it looked, anyone would say that you... liked him."

WHAT??????????

I goggled at her for a few moments, then scoffed. "Psh! Me, like Chad? No way!" I yelled shrilly. (Which, by the way, does not mean I am in denial!! That's what people think, but it isn't true!) Then I coughed and said in a deeper voice, "I do not like Chad!"

Bella folded her arms across her chest. "You're in denial," she accused.

See what I mean? They think I'm in denial when I'm not! Seriously! I don't like Chad in that way!

This is like Selena all over again!!!!!

"I am not in denial!" It took a lot of effort to stop my voice from rising again.

Bella narrowed her eyes, then she smiled brightly. Weird. "Ok, then, whatever you say." She looked inside her purse and gasped. "Omigosh, I forgot something in the cafeteria! You go on without me, I'll meet you guys in the prop house!" And she ran off.

...What the heck? Why'd she ask that?? I totally do not like Chad! I hate him! Well, no, I don't hate him, because it's wrong to hate others, but I really, really dislike him! How could I like that snob? Even if he is totally gorgeous, I would never fall for someone like him! Never ever ever ever ever!!!

So there!

Chad's POV

I chewed my steak slowly and leisurely. (Chad Dylan Cooper does _not _rush.) I was still wondering what was up with that girl, Ella or whatever her name is. She barely did anything when I told her who I was. Those Randoms must have really messed up her brain. No person in their right mind can look at Chad Dylan Cooper without screaming or fainting.

Oh, wait, I get it. She didn't want to show how much she adored me in front of the Randoms, since they don't like me and blah blah blah, so she'll probably come back at any moment to beg me for my autograph. And although I could refuse, seeing as how she reacted to me earlier, I will generously give it to her. Because Chad Dylan Cooper is always generous. (Don't listen to a word Sonny says. She'll tell you that I'm a self-centered jerk, but she's lying.)

Yup, that was it. I am so smart.

So I wasn't at all surprised when I saw the Ella girl hurrying in a few moments later. What'd I tell you? I'm always right.

And you know, that girl is pretty cute. But she's nothing compared to Sonny. (Don't tell Sonny I said that. It'll just go to her head.)

"Hey, there," I said, giving her a winning smile. "You're back. I know, you want an autograph, and - "

"Actually, I wanted something else," she said quickly. "But first, it's nice to meet you, Chad Cooper."

"It's Chad _Dylan _Cooper," I corrected her. "Do you ever hear anyone going around saying Chad Cooper? No, I didn't think so. They always say Chad Dylan Cooper." I nodded sagely.

"Yeah... nice to meet you, Chad."

"'Chad' is also acceptable," I said, nodding again. "It's nice to meet you too, Ella Finbert."

She rose her eyebrows. "Um, it's Bella Lambert."

"Sure, sure." I shifted in my seat and gave her another smile. "So, what do you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you something. Or maybe ask. Either one."

"Go right ahead," I told her, popping a piece of steak into my mouth and grinning at her. I knew just what she was going to say. She would gush, 'Chad, you are a way better actor then that Zac Efron could ever be!', and I would reply smoothly, 'Why yes, yes I am'. And then she would hop up and down and scream my name in an adoring way, just like all those other girls I've met. Ah, I know my fans.

"Are you in love with Sonny?" she asked.

I didn't hear her question at first, and went on with what I had originally planned to say. "Why yes, yes I am," I said smugly. Then, after replaying her words in my head, I choked on my steak.

Coughing, I spluttered, "W - What? Psh, no! I am not in love with Sonny! Psh! No way!"

Bella looked as though she didn't believe me, but then she shook her head understandingly. "Oh, I get it. Of course you're not in love with her. How stupid of me."

"Yes, exactly!" I exclaimed. At least now she realized that she was wrong. Me and Sonny? Yeah, right!

"No, I guess you aren't in love," she said thoughtfully. "It's probably too soon for that. You just have a crush on her. Is that it, am I right?" She beamed at me.

"What???? No!" So much for her understanding. "I don't like Sonny and I definitely don't love her! So... so take that!"

Bella stood with her arms crossed, frowning at me, then she shrugged. "Okee dokee, then. Bye, Chad." She turned to go, and I could've sworn I heard her mutter 'Denial'.

I am not in denial!!

Really, me and Sonny? Are you kidding? We hate each other! And Chad Dylan Cooper would never fall for a girl from Chuckle City!

I knew those Randoms poisoned her mind. I knew it.

Bella's POV

I paused in the hallway before entering the prop house and thoughts about what I'd just learned. They really were in denial. It's like they're afraid to admit that they like each other or something.

...

Oh. My. Gosh. What if they have no idea? Yes! That's what it is! They refuse to believe what everyone tells them, so they've somehow convinced themselves that they loathe each other's guts! Even though, way, way deep down, they're secretly crushing on each other...

Eeeeep!! This is just like a movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just breathe, Bella, just breathe.

All right. So I know that Sonny and Chad like each other. (Even though they have no clue.) Big whoop. It's not like I can do anything about it.

...Or maybe... I _can_...

Yeah, that's what I'll do! I can hook them up! I have no idea how I'm going to do it, but I will do it! WHOOO!!!!!

Which brings me back to the 'I have no idea how I'm going to do it' part. How do you hook up two TV stars? Hmmm... maybe I should watch that movie _The Parent Trap _again. It might help.

Or it might not, seeing as how Chad and Sonny aren't my parents. And I'm pretty sure I don't have a twin anywhere in this world. So I'm going to have to figure this out on my own. But the first thing I should do is try to learn more about Sonny and Chad's relationship, what happened in the past, that kind of stuff. Then I'll somehow get them to admit that they like each other by the end of the week!

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Hehe, they'll be together in no time!

THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!

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**Did ya like it? Review please! Oh, and thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved, and alerted! Knowing that people are actually reading this really inspires me, and I also love to read your reviews! You guys rock! X3**

**Peace out!!!!!!**


	6. Chip Drama Pants

**Here it is! The new chapter!!!! -insert cheers here-**

**Disclaimer: Oh, yeah, I totally own Sonny with a Chance. I also invented the television.**

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Sonny's POV

I sat on the couch in the prop house, trying to make conversation with Tawni, but she refused to talk to me. Well, when I first came in she was like, 'I'm not going to speak to you since you're fraternizing with the enemy!' and I was all 'Bella's not an enemy!' and she went 'That's what you think.' After _that _she refused to talk.

So sometime while I was doing this, Bella walked in, looking pleased. I glanced up at her apprehensively, thinking maybe she might bring up that me-liking-Chad thing again. Which I don't really want to discuss right now. Thankfully, she must've not remembered, because she sat down beside me without saying a word. I relaxed enough to ask, "So what was it you forgot?"

She turned her head and stared at me. "What are you talking about?" She looked confused.

"You said you forgot something in the cafeteria...?" I wonder if she's suffering from short term memory loss. Gosh, I hope not.

Bella blinked. "Oh. Yeah. That. Um, I forgot my... my, uh... my ball. Yeah, I forgot my ball." She offered no explanation as to what she meant by that, so I didn't ask.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Bella clapped her hands together. "So... I was wondering about something..."

Oh, boy, here it comes.

"Earlier you guys asked me if I liked _Mackenzie Falls_ or not. What does that have to do with anything?"

Phew, thank goodness. She didn't say anything about me liking Chad. What a relief. "Well - " I began.

Just then, Grady and Nico bounded in. "Hey, y'all, we just went to the - to the..." Nico's voice trailed off as he stared at Bella, who just gave him a blank look. "Oh, hi, Bella, it's so nice to see you, do you want anything, need anything, I'll get it for you," he stuttered, rushing over to Bella's side.

Bella frowned at him, then shrugged. "I just want to know what's the big deal about _Mackenzie Falls_."

Grady gasped. "You don't know??"

"No, that's why I'm asking."

"It's because it's the worst show ever!" Nico hissed.

"Yeah, it sucks!" Grady agreed.

Bella continued to look blank, so I took that moment to start explaining. "Well, you see, we're kind of rivals with the _Mackenzie Falls _cast. I mean, they're all stuck up and snobby - "

"Especially Chip Drama Pants," Grady added.

"Yes, especially him." I said.

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Who the heck is Chip Drama Pants?"

Oh, yeah, I forgot she doesn't know about Chad's nickname. "You know, _Chad Dylan Cooper_." I spat out his name.

Bella looked amused. "Oh, really?"

I nodded. "Yup. Is that all you wanted to know?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but Tawni chose that moment to stand up and huff, "Well, if no one is talking about me, I see no point in staying here any longer." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked out of the room.

I glanced at Bella, who was now looking downcast, and bit my lip. "Um... Tawni's just kinda in a bad mood today." Which wasn't really the truth, but it wasn't a lie either, so... yeah. But Bella seemed cheered up by this. "So what was it like when you first joined _So Random!_?" she asked me eagerly.

Pretty soon I was telling her about everything that had happened since I'd come here. I told her about the bee sketch, the peace picnic with the _Mackenzie Falls _cast and... well, like I said, _everything_. (Nico and Grady hung around for a bit, but they got bored after a while and left to get a fro-yo. Just thought you'd like to know.)

After I finished, Bella told me some more about herself. Like, for instance, her birthday's in December, her favorite color is red, she hates broccoli, and she loves sugar. She also told me about her wacko mom, who sounds like a really funny person, and about her dad, who was killed in a car crash when Bella was eleven, which is so sad. Bella shrugged when I said that and told me it was no big deal. But it must've been a big deal, because she quickly changed the subject to her pet fish. (Which died shortly after they bought it because Bella kept forgetting to feed it.)

Before we knew it, it was already 5:00 P.M., and I had to go back to my apartment for the day. "I'll show you my dressing room tomorrow, K?" I said, making sure I had everything with me.

Bella bounced up and down. "All right!"

We grinned at each other, then I waved to her and said, "Bye, Bella!"

"See ya, Sonny!" she called as I walked off.

Before I left the studio, I opened the door to my dressing room to check if Tawni was still there, but the room was empty. She must've gone already. And without saying goodbye. Oh well, I'll just talk to her tomorrow. Feeling cheerful, I closed the door and strode off down the hallway.

Bella's POV

I sat down on the couch in the prop house for a while, then stood up and looked around. Everyone probably left already, so there's basically nothing to do, but I don't want to sleep yet!

Ooh, I know! I'll look at all the props they have in here! I might find something cool.

I searched through everything. I found some neat wigs that I tried on. (Note to self: I look horrible as a blonde.) I went inside Zora's sarcophogus, which is actually quite roomy, and I shrieked when I saw that rat in the photo booth. But then I realized it wasn't going to hurt me, so I quit screaming. We had a little staredown (the rat won), then I plopped myself back down on the couch.

I love this prop house. I can see why everyone else loves it too. And I'm so lucky that I actually get to be here! EEE!!!

Suddenly, the song _Remember December _by Demi Lovato started playing. At first I was just like 'What the - ?', but then I remembered that that's my cellphone's ringtone. Duh. Digging my phone out of my purse, I sang along with Demi for a few seconds. Then I checked the Caller ID, which said _Home_.

Oops. I forgot to call Mom. I hope she's not mad at me.

"Helllllooooooo?"

"Honey???? How's it going???? Is it good???? TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!!"

"Glad to know things are going well with you, Mom."

"Don't start being sarcastic, just _tell meeeeeee!!!_"

"Well, if you really want to know..."

"Of course I do!!! Stop torturing me!!!!"

"Ok, then. It's been great so far! Sonny is so nice!"

"Aww, that's nice to know! What about the others?"

"Well, Nico and Grady are as funny as always, though I think Nico must be having some issues. I'm trying to figure it out, but I'm not getting anywhere yet. And Zora, you know, the little girl? She's cool, but kinda weird. In a cool way."

"Sweet! But wasn't there someone else?"

"Oh, you mean Tawni? Well, she seems nice, but she won't talk to me much. I wonder why..."

"As long as you're having fun."

"Yeah, I totally am! Oh, and guess what? Sonny and Chip - I mean, Chad like each other!!"

"Sonny and who?"

"You know, Chad Dylan Cooper."

"..."

"He's on _Mackenzie Falls_."

"Oh, yeah, the ridiculously funny show."

"It's not supposed to funny, it's supposed to be dramatic."

"Really? Wow, I always thought it was a comedy..."

"Either way, they're crushing on each other, and I'm making it my duty to hook them up!"

"You can do that? Wow, that sounds so exciting! Almost like a movie!"

"That's exactly what I thought! And you know what's even cooler? They like each other and they have absolutely no idea!"

"...You lost me."

"Well, they keep denying it when people bring it up."

"Oh, I get it."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Nope."

"Um, how do I explain it? Ok, so they like each other, but they refuse to acknowledge that fact because they're both under the impression that they hate each other."

"Oh!"

"Make sense now?"

"Definitely! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, I know! Oh, Mom, I wish you were here with me! You'd love Hollywood! I know I do!"

"Hehe, probably so. But I'm kinda busy back over here."

"Doing what, baking cookies?"

"Nooooooooooo.... well, yes, but I'm also doing something else. I'll tell you tomorrow, it's late here in Lousiana."

"Oh, ok, then. Bye, Mom!"

"Bye, sweetheart, have fun!"

I closed my cellphone and sighed happily. Talking to Mom is so fun. And after our talk, I'd remembered what I'd supposed to be focusing on: Getting Sonny and Chip Drama Pants together.

Ha, I love saying Chip Drama Pants! It sounds so funny!!! Bwahahaha!!!

If anyone walked in on me right now, they'd think I was mental, because I'm rolling around on the floor cackling like an idiot. So maybe I should get up.

I stood and tried to compose myself.

...

Omigosh, look who just passed down the hallway! It's the drama king himself!! Heehee, drama king... Sonny would probably laugh her head off if I told her that.

Wait, why am I just standing here? I should be going after him, trying to get to know what he's like! Which is exactly what I'm going to do. Right now.

Chad's POV

I walked down the hallway by the Randoms' prop house. I don't know why I was coming here. Maybe it's because I usually pass by here, which I still don't get. I could go anywhere, but I seem to always be coming here. And this is the last place I wanted to be at the moment, what with that new girl. I still can't believe she had the nerve to ask if I liked Sonny! Me, Chad Dylan Cooper, like Sonny Munroe? Ha!

Well, one thing's for sure. If that girl asks for an autograph, I am so not giving her one.

...I feel like someone's watching me. I hope it isn't that creepy little Random girl. She freaks me out. I looked up at the air vents above me, just to be sure. Nope, not the creepy weird girl. Hmmm...

I turned around and smacked right into that new girl. Bella, I think her name was.

"Ow!" she whined, frowning at me. "Why'd you turn around???"

I narrowed my eyes at her, not even bothering to answer her question. "Are you stalking me?"

"Ew, no, why would I do that?" She made a face.

"Then why are you following me?" I demanded. "Do you really want an autograph this badly?"

"Wow, Sonny was right. You do have a big ego."

I ignored that. "So what do you want, Random?"

"I'm not a Random."

"You hang out with Randoms, you are a Random."

She blew a strand of black hair out of her eyes. "Makes sense. But I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Why?" I challenged. If this had anything to do with Sonny, I was leaving. Really, I should've been home by now, combing my perfect hair. You know, to make sure it stays perfect.

But it wouldn't make any difference. Guys like me are naturally perfect. I'm not bragging, just stating a fact.

"It's only a little interview," Bella said, sounding annoyed. "You can spare some time, can't you?"

I sighed. "Urgh. Fine." I folded my arms across my chest. "This better be worth it."

She just shrugged at me. "Ok. What's your favorite color."

"Blue. Or maybe yellow. Either one."

She arched an eyebrow. "Yellow?"

"Yeah..." This girl is weird. Does she have a problem with yellow or something?"

"All right, then. What's your favorite TV show?"

"_Mackenzie Falls_."

"Haha, that's funny. But I'm talking about a show besides the one you star on."

"Oh. Well, then, I don't have one."

"Sure you don't... what about _So Random!_? What do you think of that show?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's bad and it's not even remotely funny. My show is better."

Bella opened her mouth, probably to say something defensive, then closed it and cleared her throat. "Fine. Next question. Who's your favorite actress?"

I feel like she's trying to trick me into saying something I don't want to say. What's she up to? I paused for a few seconds before answering. "Hannah Montana."

"You mean Miley Cyrus."

"Well, she's cool, but Hannah Montana is better."

Bella goggled at me. "You do know that they're the same person, right?"

Ah, some people are so dumb. Probably because they don't have my superior knowledge. "No, they aren't," I said confidently. "They're twin sisters. Duh. They look so alike that they've fooled everyone. Everyone except me, of course." I smirked.

Bella's jaw had dropped, and she was staring at me like I'd just grown two extra heads. Or worse, maybe my hair had gotten messed up! I touched the top of my head just to be sure. Nope, my hair was still as perfect as ever. "What?" I asked.

"Chad, have you ever heard of the Hannah Montana movie?" she asked, now looking like she was trying to hold back laughter.

"Yeah, b - "

"Watch it."

I frowned at her. "Why?"

"If you watch it you'll see why," she said, giggling a bit. "Well, that's all I wanted to ask."

I was incredulous. "That's it? You only asked four questions!"

She shrugged. "So? You didn't want me to take up too much of your time, right?"

Oh, yeah. Right. I'm not used to short interviews, I guess. "True," I agreed. "Well, then, bye Bella."

"You remembered my name," she teased in a sing-song voice.

I scoffed. "I've always known your name. I was just testing you earlier to make sure that you knew it too."

She snorted with laughter. "Uh, huh. Well, bye, Chad! It was nice seeing you again!" Then she turned and skipped off.

You know, if that girl wasn't a Random, I'd say she was cool.

It's like Sonny. If she wasn't from Chuckle City, we'd probably get along better.

And why am I even thinking about Sonny? Egh, I must be really tired. Chad Dylan Cooper needs his sleep, you know.

Bella's POV

I walked into my room and sat down on my soft, bouncy bed. I giggled while staring at the wall. I can't believe Chad thinks Miley and Hannah are two different people! That's hilarious!!

But back to business. So I didn't really get much out of that conversation. I did my best not to mention Sonny, but he hardly revealed anything. He didn't even make a slip-up!

The only thing I know is that one of his favorite colors is yellow. I read an issue of _Tween Weekly _once before where he said that his only favorite color was blue. That was before Sonny came to Condor Studios.

And Sonny told me her favorite color is yellow. Coincidence? I think not.

...Ok, maybe it is a coincidence, but I have a feeling that it isn't. And I know these things.

And on the bright side, I learned a bunch of stuff from Sonny. Like when she dated James Conroy and this guy named Hayden (well, she didn't really date him, they just kissed. Because of the Kiss Cam. At a basketball game. You get the picture.), Chad somehow got involved _every time_.

Heehee... maybe I am getting somewhere.

Anyway, Chad seems like a nice guy. A bit of a snob, maybe, but nice. He and Sonny are definitely made for each other! If only I could find a way to convince them of that...

Gosh, I really need to get better at this matchmaking thing.

Well, I should probably get ready for bed now. Tomorrow will be another great day (I hope), and I'll figure something out. Yup.

I went to the bathroom (Not the bathroom down the hall, the one that I just discovered is connected to my room. It has a bathtub and everything!), changed into my pajamas, turned off the light, and dove under the bedsheets. It took a while for me to get to sleep, since my mind was filled with everything I'd learned today. Finally, I grabbed my iPod, put the volume on low, and listened to some music until I fell asleep.

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**Hehe, I like this chapter. It's not the best, but it shows how Sonny and Bella are getting closer, and how Chad is kinda/slightly/not really warming up to Bella. And also I like the name Chip Drama Pants. I laugh every time I hear it. ^^**

**Review please!**


	7. Spoonfuls of Sugar

**Hi, guys! Here's the next chapter! It was originally going to be longer, but my parents bought me a new computer and disconnected the old one, so I had to rewrite this chap. Then I got lazy and stopped writing once I was done with Bella's POV. So yeah.**

**Also, this chapter's not very exciting. It's more of a filler than anything else. It might not make much sense at first, but the next chapter might clear some things up. Until then...**

**Disclaimer: Yep, I own Sonny with a Chance. I was also with Neil Armstrong when he went to the moon. _Not. _Though that would be cool.**

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Bella's POV

I woke up the next morning, stretched, and glanced at the alarm next to my bed. Eight o' clock in the morning. Wow, It's early. Egh, whatever. I wonder what Mom's making for breakfast?

Wait a second...

...

WHERE THE HECK AM I?????????

I staggered out of the bed and stared around wildly, taking in my surroundings. Someone must have kidnapped me while I was asleep, but why? What'd I ever do to anyone????? I've been a good person, I've gotten good grades,  
I always got along with my mother, I -

Oh. Duh. I am so _stupid_. I wasn't kidnapped. I'm at Condor Studios. I came here of my own free will.

False alarm.

You can see that mornings and me don't go well together.

Well, I'm already awake. Might as well get dressed. I wonder what they serve for breakfast over here? Maybe pancakes... or French toast....

I changed into a blue T-shirt and tugged on some green pants. (I don't know or care if it looks good or not. As long as I can wear it, I'm happy.) After sliding on my converse sneakers I left the room, feeling a tad bit depressed. It's way too early. Sonny and the others definitely won't be here. So I'm pretty much stuck with nothing to do.

Agh, I have a sudden desire to go to Beverly Hills and spy on all the Hollywood stars. But I guess I'm going to have to settle with exploring the studio.

First things first, though: FOOD.

I walked into the cafeteria and looked around. The place seemed empty. Darn it. Then I saw the dude wearing the hairnet. (I dunno what his name is, so I'm just going to call him Hairnet Guy.) He was sitting on a chair with his back turned to me.

I tiptoed behind him. After a few moments I cleared my throat.

Hairnet Guy nearly fell off his chair. Hehe. He glared at me. "Who are you? What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I countered back.

"I have to prepare the food. I always get here in the morning."

"Ok, so you can make me breakfast!" I said cheerfully.

Hairnet Guy was quiet for a few seconds. Then he looked back up. "Nah."

"What? But I have to eat breakfast! I'm going to be staying here for a whole week, so I have to eat somewhere! Not to mention breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" I added.

He shrugged. "Sorry, kid. I'm only here to make and serve lunch. You should order a breakfast pizza."

Ew. Breakfast pizza sounds disgusting. I made a face.

"Well, then, go eat out, make your own food, I don't care!" the guy snapped. "Just leave me in peace."

"Fine," I said tartly, then stalked out of the cafeteria in a regal manner.

Once in the hallway, I leaned against the wall and heaved a big sigh. Great. Just great. I don't know where I can order stuff from, and I don't have a car to drive around town. (I can't even drive yet, so what's the point?) Now I'm going to starve! (Especially because I skipped supper yesterday. I'm not sure why I did that, but it was a big mistake.)

Well, I know what I shall do. I will defy my hunger!

Yeah. That's what I'll do.

...

...

Ok, this isn't working out for me.

I trudged slowly down the hall, frowning at my shoes. I wasn't looking where I was going, and I definitely didn't see this other guy walking toward me. So you can probably guess what happened. We bumped into each other, of course. I fell down on my butt and the other person staggered back a bit.

"Sorry," said the other person.

I ignored that. "Can't you watch where you're going?" I growled angrily. I glared up at the guy and found myself staring into really, really green eyes. Like, emerald green or something. I was temporarily speechless. I dunno why, I guess I'm a sucker for green eyes. Or something like that. Either way, I couldn't talk for about six seconds, and the guy took advantage of my silence. "I'm very sorry," he repeated. "Here, let me help you up." He extended his hand, and I took it without even thinking. He pulled me to my feet, then grinned at me. "You should be careful next time."

I found my voice again. "You could've dodged me," I said grumpily. I looked him up and down. The dude had dark brown hair with bangs that fell over his face a bit. He was clad in a simple plaid T-shirt and some blue jeans. And his green eyes were sparkling with laughter. He was really.... what's the word? Cute? Yeah, I guess you could call him cute.

...Oh god, was I just checking him out? Urgh, now I'm hungry _and _disgusted with myself.

I suddenly realized that the dude was laughing at me. I frowned. "There isn't anything funny about this!"

He didn't say anything, he was too busy laughing his head off. I glared at him, then started to stalk off, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. "Hey, wait," he said. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Oh, really?" I muttered, jerking away from him. I folded my arms across my chest. "How come you're here so early in the morning? I thought I was the only one in the studio. Well, except for the cafeteria guy, but he doesn't really count."

"I always get here early," the dude said, raising an eyebrow at me. "I'm on one of the shows. _Hoosier Girl_," he added when I continued to frown at him. "I play the farmboy."

"Never watched _Hoosier Girl_," I mumbled. He didn't seem to hear me. If he did hear then he pretended otherwise.

"I arrive before the others so that I can get a headstart, practice some lines I haven't quite gotten the hang of. You know, the early bird gets the worm." He flashed a smile at me.

I had one of my clueless moments then. "What worm?"

When he looked at me in confusion, I realized my mistake. I slapped my forehead. "Oh. I thought you were talking about a real bird and a worm...." My voice trailed off.

The dude seemed to get over his surprise and smiled again. "So why're you here so early?" he countered back.

Oh, yeah, now he's using my own questions against me. That's real nice. (Note the sarcasm.) "I won the _So Random! _contest," I told him, figuring that was all he needed to know.

"Ah, you're the Bella girl," he said, nodding. "I've heard about you. Nice to meet you."

I didn't say anything, because my stomach had just growled. Loudly. Agh, darn my stupid hunger.

"You hungry?" the dude asked, looking amused.

"Pfft, no." I waved my hand in the air dismissively. "What makes you think that?"

_GROWL._

I flushed with embarrassment as he started to laugh again. "Ok, yeah, I'm hungry," I snapped. "The cafeteria guy won't let me eat, and I can't exactly drive over to McDonald's."

"Howie won't give you anything?" he asked, his laughter stopping abruptly.

"Who's Howie?"

"The cafeteria guy."

Ah, Hairnet Guy has a name. Interesting. "No. He said he doesn't serve breakfast here."

The dude shook his head. "You can make your own breakfast."

"How?" I asked.

"Come with me and I'll show you." He grabbed my hand again, and I jerked back. "I can walk, thanks," I said tartly.

He blinked as though he hadn't known this, then shrugged and jogged off. I followed him, not really knowing why I was listening to the guy. I didn't even know him. I should be making a break for it or something. But there's something about him that makes me trust him. I mean, he looks nice. I wish he would stop touching me, but he still seems trustworthy.

I guess.

We walked back into the cafeteria, where Howie the Hairnet Guy (ooh, that sounds funny!) was reading a magazine. I stayed on the side while the cute dude went over to Howie.

"Hey, Howie," the dude said, tapping on Howie's shoulder. "Is it ok if we go into the kitchen for a bit?"

"Why?" Howie asked bluntly.

"Because the lady is hungry," Cute Dude (yeah, that's what I'm calling him now) said, gesturing toward me. I opened my mouth to say that I was a girl, not a lady, but then closed it again. If I said something I'd probably mess up Cute Dude's plan. Whatever that plan was.

Howie glanced at me and narrowed his eyes, thinking it through. Then he turned back to Cute Dude. "Sure."'

My jaw practically hit the floor. That was it???? I totally could have done that!!! Well, probably not, but still, there had to be a catch. Some catch. _Any _catch.

"Thanks." Cute Dude patted Howie's shoulder, then went behind the food counter and disappeared through a door I never noticed before. I followed dumbly, still not understanding how he's managed to get Howie to give in.

Once through the door, I stared around, my eyes wide. There had so much food in here, and - OOH, SUGAR!!!!!!

I raced over to the bowl of sugar I'd just spotted on one of the tables, grinned impishly, and grabbed a wooden spoon that was next to the bowl. I spooned the sugar into my mouth, beaming in delight.

I didn't see Cute Dude giving me an amused stare until about three minutes later. I looked at him. "What?"

"You're eating sugar."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I love sugar. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I take it this means I'm forgiven for bumping into you earlier," he chuckled.

I nodded ferociously. Anyone who brought me to a huge bowl of sugar was an awesome person, of that I was sure.

"Look, if you want to eat sugar, wait until we make your breakfast," Cute Dude said, grinning. "See, at home my mother and I like to make bread, butter, and sugar in the morning."

I cocked my head. "Huh?"

"It's a sandwich," he told me. "Just take some bread, spread on some butter, pour some sugar, and voila! The perfect breakfast!"

Mmm, sounds interesting. "Ok, then, bread, butter, and sugar it is." I grinned widely, and he grinned back at me.

It didn't take very long to make the sandwich. Cute Dude found the bread and spread on some butter, then I poured on a bunch of sugar. Once we were done, I bit into it and closed my eyes happily. "This is really good!"

"Told ya," Cute Dude smirked.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Then I offered him some, but he refused to eat anything. Said it was all for me, not for him. I shrugged and finished it up. Cute Dude waited until I was done, then looked at his watch and exclaimed, "Oh, I gotta go! Bye, Bella!"

He was gone before I could say anything. And then I realized something: I'd been calling him Cute Dude in my head, but I didn't even know his real name. I ran out of the kitchen, past Howie, who was still reading his magazine, and into the hallway. "Hey, wait!" I called, but he had disappeared.

I make a friend and I don't even know his name. Typical.

Well, at least I had breakfast.

I looked at my watch. 9:45? Already? Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun. I wonder when Sonny and the others will get here? Which reminds me, Sonny's going to show me her dressing room today!

WHOOO!!! TO THE PROP HOUSE!!!!!!!

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**I bet you guys are wondering who the heck that guy was and what he has to do with the story. All I can say is that he's a very significant character. As I said, the next chapter might clear it up a bit. But until then I'll just leave you guessing as to what role he plays in the story. ;) **

**Review please!**


	8. A Complication

Chad's POV

I parked my sweet new convertible in the studio parking lot, got out, and strode towards the front door, reading the new Mackenzie Falls script as I walked. In this episode, Penelope gets kidnapped by a mysterious stranger, and Mackenzie has to choose between saving her or going on his date with Chloe. Something along those lines, I haven't read through the whole script yet. But I will. I was just busy last night. I rented that Hannah Montana movie after what the new girl told me, and it turns out that Miley and Hannah are _actually _the same person! Can you believe it? I know, it's shocking.

Anyway, back to me. As I entered the studio I spotted Sonny out of the corner of my eye. She was probably making her way to Stage Three or something. Putting down my script for the moment, I swaggered over to her. "Morning, Munroe."

Sonny smiled brightly at me. "Good morning, Chad!"

I raised an eyebrow. "You seem cheerful."

"I am," she gushed. "I have so many things planned out for today! I'm going to show Bella my dressing room, then I'll give her the tour of Hollywood! We'll go on a shopping spree, and then we'll come back here and brainstorm ideas for Friday's show!"

"...Do I look like I care?"

Sonny frowned at me and wrinkled her nose in that stupid adorable way of hers, then she smiled again and folded her arms across her chest. "You know what? I'm not going to let you get to me today, Chad. I'm determined to have a fun day without you ruining it."

"Well, then, fine!" I snapped.

She didn't reply back with 'fine', which kinda confused me. I mean, I know are arguments are, well, stupid, but... oh, wait, that's right, she doesn't want me 'ruining her day', as she so quaintly puts it. How could I ruin anyone's day? I'm Chad Dylan freakin' Cooper. I bring joy to any girl that sees me. With the exception of Sonny, which I personally don't understand.

Anyhow, while we were talking, Sonny had been fiddling with something in her hand. It looked like a pencil. Either way, she dropped it on the floor. I looked down at it (turns out it was a pen) and debated whether or not to pick it up. It's not my pen, and I didn't drop it, so she should get it herself. Chad Dylan Cooper does not go picking up pens for people. It's not Chad Dylan Cooper-ish. But maybe I can make one teeny tiny exception for Munroe. I'll just make sure she doesn't tell anyone about it...

Just as I'd decided to pick up the pen for her, some other dude walks in, looks at both of us, then bends down and grabs the pen. He straightened up, smiled at Sonny, and asked, "Is this yours?"

Sonny, who had been gaping at him since he came in, nodded slowly and took it from him.

I looked from her to the other guy, frowning. Why was she acting like that? She doesn't think he's cute or something, does she? Because I am wayyyyy more handsome than this guy, and she doesn't gawk around me. (I think I might just take that as an insult.)

Meanwhile, the dude was looking curiously at Sonny. "You seem familiar..." Then his eyes lit up. "Oh, you're Sonny Munroe! I love your show!"

Sonny flushed and giggled, "Thanks."

I figured it was time to butt in. "Yes, and I'm Chad Dylan Cooper, star of _Mackenzie Falls_," I informed him.

He glanced at me and said, "Yeah, hi." Then he turned back to Sonny, who'd glared at me for interrupting at first but now looked like she was holding back laughter.

Seriously, what is up with people these days?? First the Bella girl and now this dude? It's like they're ignoring me! Don't they care that I'm on the number one tween show in America? Apparently they don't.

Some people are just weird.

"So can I have your autograph?" he asked Sonny eagerly, then cleared his throat and added, "Not for me, of course, for my little sister. She adores you. We both adore you. 'Cause you rock."

I rolled my eyes. The guy sounds so lame. But Sonny laughed and nodded again. "Sure. Do you have a piece of paper?"

"Um..." The guy searched through his pockets. "No..."

Sonny looked thoughtful, then turned to me. I was about to ask what she wanted when I noticed her staring at my script. I hid it behind my back. "No, you can't sign this! It's _my script_."

Sonny rolled her eyes but turned and looked through her purse instead. She glanced at the guy. "I have a napkin. Is that ok?"

When he nodded, she scribbled something on the napkin with her pen and handed it to him. He read whatever was on there, then beamed at her. "Thanks! I'll - I mean, my sister will treasure it forever!"

Sonny giggled again. Then she cocked her head. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Oops, I forgot about that. I'm Blake, Blake Warner. I'm kinda new here, which is why you haven't seen me before." He gave her a big smile.

Blake Warner. He is so going on my Do Not Admit wall.

"Nice to meet you, Blake," Sonny said.

Blake's smile widened. "Same here." Then he blurted out randomly, "You're really pretty, Sonny."

Sonny blushed a deep red. "Thanks!" she said, giving him a toothy grin.

I had the sudden urge to push Blake out a window. Or throw him in a lake. That would be a good idea, except there aren't any lakes around here.

"Well, um, I should go now. Catch ya later, Sonny!" He waved and walked off.

I glared after him. If there were a lake around here, the only thing he'd catch would be a fish in his mouth.

Sonny, who was beaming, turned to me and frowned. "Anything wrong, Chad?"

"Nope. Nothing wrong at all." I shook my head, wondering what had just come over me. I wanted to push a guy I'd never met before into a lake and I didn't even know why. I must not have gotten enough sleep last night. "Anyway, Munroe, I have better things to do than stand around and talk to you. I have to go to the Falls." I waved my script in her face. "So as much as you want to talk to me, I must leave."

"I don't want to talk to you."

I took that opportunity to say, "Good!"

Sonny opened her mouth to reply, but then she shook her head. "Nuh uh. Nice try, Chad, but not today." And she skipped off, humming to herself.

I watched her until she was gone, then leaned against the wall, frowning. Sonny can be so aggravating. But she can still be cute even while she's annoying me.

Stupid cute.

Bella's POV

I flipped through a magazine that I'd found on a stool in the prop house. It was an issue of _Tween Weekly_ that had come out a few weeks ago. I remember looking through this at WalMart, but I didn't read all of it. Either way, I just took a quiz on what type of guy I like. Apparently I prefer handsome dark-haired strangers.

Makes me think of that guy. Mr. Whatever-His-Name-Is. (aka the Cute Dude.)

Oh, and look, Selena Gomez's birthday is coming up on Thursday! She'll be seventeen. Sweet! **(A/N: By the way, the story takes place in the middle of July. I forgot to mention that, sorry!)**

If I concentrate hard enough, maybe I can wish Selena a happy early birthday, and she'll hear. In her head, of course.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Sonny, who was beaming and humming happily. I waved at her. "Hi, Sonny! You look like you've had a good day so far." Maybe she woke up this morning and realized she's in love with Chad. That would be so cool! But I somehow doubt that's what happened.

Sonny looked at me and grinned. "Hey, Bella! And yes, today's been a good day." She giggled for some reason I didn't know about, then asked, "How was your morning?"

"Pretty good," I told her, shrugging. "I met some dude who helped me make breakfast. After that nothing much happened. I just sat here and read this magazine." I showed it to her.

She glanced at it. "Oh." She frowned at the cover, which had a big picture of Chad on it.

I put down the magazine and placed a pillow over it so that Sonny wouldn't have to see his face. Because she obviously doesn't want to look at him. Personally, though, I feel like locking her in a closet and forcing her to stare at his picture until she comes to the realization that she likes him. But I'm too nice to do that. Anywho...

"Ready to go see my dressing room?" Sonny asked brightly.

I leapt up, nodding. "Totally! Let's go!"

She led the way down the hall. I followed, trying to memorize ever corner of the studio. You know, just in case I have to sneak around at night. Or if I want to prank someone. I've never played a prank on anyone before, but I'll bet it's fun.

Sonny stopped at a door with a pink star on it and pushed it open. "Here we are!" She leaned aside to let me pass.

I walked in, slack-jawed. Wow! This is amazing! I raced around the room, touching everything (Just to make sure that this was real. You never know, I could've just been dreaming all of this.) "This place rocks, Sonny! And I love your sofa!" I sat down on it and bounced up and down. I didn't get a reply from Sonny, but I didn't really care. I was still staring around. I walked over to a dresser and looked at all the pictures of Tawni. Gosh, she must love herself a lot. No offense to her, of course.

"Hey, Sonny, can I take a picture of this place? I never want to forget what it looks like." I turned around to look at her. She was sitting on a chair, smiling at the ceiling. She glanced at me, nodded, then went back to doing... whatever she was doing.

I pulled out my cellphone from my purse and snapped, like, six pictures. Then I dropped it behind the sofa. Ack, I'm so clumsy. I dived down behind the sofa and snatched it up. Just as that had happened, I heard the door open.

"Hey, Sonny, where's my lip gloss?" came Tawni's voice.

"Not sure," said Sonny, sighing. She sounded dreamy. I didn't notice that before. I stayed frozen behind the sofa, not sure if I should show myself and have Tawni yell at me. I decided to eavesdrop some more. Well, it's not really eavesdropping. It's simply... listening and gathering informative information while hiding behind a sofa. Yeah.

There was a pause. Then Tawni said slowly, "You're boy sighing." Immediately her voice rose, sounding eager. "Who'd you meet? Is he cute??"

Boy sighing? So that's why Sonny seemed so distracted. Maybe she did realize she likes Chad...

"His name's Blake and he's so handsome," Sonny gushed. I could just imagine the look on her face and... and...

Wait. Hold up. _Blake_? Who is this _Blake _person? The time for gathering informative information in a secretive manner is over. Way over.

I stood up and stared at Sonny, my hands on my hips. "Who's Blake?" I asked angrily. (I sounded like I was accusing her of a crime. If I hadn't gotten so worked up just now, I would've found that funny.)

Tawni, meanwhile, was gaping at me. "Where'd she come from?!" She practically screeched.

I ignored her and sat down beside Sonny, poking her arm. "Start talking."

Sonny looked slightly confused, but she babbled willingly. "He's a new guy but he's so sweet and helpful and funny and - "

I didn't hear any more. I was seething. How dare that guy come here and threaten Sonny and Chad's relationship! He could ruin everything! (And I don't even have a proper plan yet, so that just makes things worse!)

...Ok. This might complicate things a bit. But I'll fix things. I'll just pour a bucket of paint over this Blake guy's head. Yup. First I need to find out what he looks like, or else I might pour paint all over the wrong person.

" - and he's amazing!" Sonny had apparently finished her little speech on how cool this guy was. I'll bet you anything he's not cool at all. He's probably a nerd.

I was going to reply, but Tawni leaned towards Sonny and whispered, "That girl is _everywhere_! Why is she in my dressing room?"

I felt like telling her I could hear her, but decided against it.

"It's _our_ dressing room, Tawn, and I was showing her around," Sonny replied back calmly.

Tawni huffed, glared at me, then stalked out the door, hissing over her shoulder, "I'm telling Marshall about this!"

When she was gone, Sonny gave me an apologetic glance. "Sorry about Tawni, she doesn't do well with the new people."

"I can tell," I remarked, then went on casually, "So, Sonny, do you think you could show me what Blake looks like?"

"Oh, but I was planning on showing you around Hollywood."

Darn, now I'm torn between going to look at that sidewalk of stars or finding and destroying this Blake dude.

"Weeellll..." I said slowly, then perked up when I thought of something. "How about we look for him while we head to your car?"

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, then stood. "Follow me." She left the room. I paused for a moment to hug the sofa. (It's a wonderful sofa. If you saw it, you'd probably hug it, too.) Then I followed her.

We passed by a bunch of guys. There was one person with frizzy red hair and huge glasses, and I asked Sonny if that was Blake. Sonny gave me a look and told me that Blake had brown hair.

How can she remember what his hair color was? I would totally forget! She must be getting infatuated with him. That's the first sign of a threat. I have to get rid of this guy soon. Of course, I have to do it in a way that won't harm him, but I have to take him out of the game. I mean, a Blake and Sonny pairing doesn't sound right. Slake? Bonny? That's just wrong. (And Sonny's name sounds like 'sunny', so their couple name would sound like 'bunny'! That isn't right!!)

I poked Sonny. "See him yet?"

She shook her head.

I sighed and looked around some more. That guy has to be somewhere. He can't just have disappeared off the face of the earth. Can he?

Ooh, maybe he has! That would help loads.

But I was, of course, disappointed. Sonny's eyes lit up, and she pointed wildly at somebody around the corner. "Look! There he is!"

I craned my neck. I couldn't see him from where I was standing. I was going to tell Sonny that, but she had run off to meet the Blake guy. (How does she even know it's him? Can she see through the wall or something?) I followed her quickly, eager to see what this mysterious Blake looked like.

As I turned the corner, I heard Sonny say, "Bella, this is Blake!"

And then, to my utter shock, I found myself face to face with the same cute dude that had helped me make breakfast this morning.

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**Ha! I bet you didn't see that coming! Well, you probably did, but still...**

**This chapter was fun to write. Chad makes me laugh. XD Now, I'd rant about my day and whatnot to you guys, but you'll probably just get bored. So I'll just stop talking.**

**And you guys rock! Thanks for reviewing!! I can't believe I already have 41 reviews. EEEE!!!! Keep reading and reviewing please! (It makes me feel so loved. ^^)**


	9. Blake is a snake

**Wow, sorry I haven't updated in the past two weeks. I wasn't sure what to write in this chapter at first, not to mention I've been having trouble at school lately. I got a B in math on my progress report. Yeah, I know, it's not really that big a deal, but apparently it's a tragedy, according to my mom. So she's been forcing me to study my math book every day, and I haven't had time to come on the internet. Luckily, Mom loosened up and let me get on here. Yup.**

**So.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter! You guys are awesome!! X3**

**Oh, and this chapter's not that exciting. But you'll probably still like it anyway. Hopefully. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny with a Chance, Simon Cowell, or Burger King. I do own Bella, Blake the snake, and the random fangirl.**

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Sonny's POV

After I introduced Bella to Blake, I expected to hear her say something like 'Oh, sweet, nice to meet you!'. Or maybe something like 'How's it going, dude?'. What I didn't expect was complete silence. I glanced at Bella. She was just standing there, her hands at her sides, looking stunned. You know, the I-Just-Got-A-Big-Slap-On-The-Face kind of stunned.

Before I could say anything, Blake grinned at Bella and said, "Hi again!"

I whipped my head around to look at him. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I helped her make breakfast this morning."

I vaguely remembered Bella telling me something along those lines, but I never would have thought the guy who helped her would be _Blake_. I turned back to her. "Really?"

Bella seemed to have gotten over her shock. Now she was giving Blake a death glare, for some reason I didn't know of. "Unfortunately, yes," she muttered between gritted teeth.

I paused for a moment. Bella was still glaring at Blake, Blake was looking confused as to why she was glaring at him, and I was thinking, _Wow, this is awkward..._

"So... Sonny, where are you guys going?" Blake finally asked, turning to me. He seemed uncomfortable. Probably because Bella was now walking around and inspecting him with narrowed eyes. I stared at her. What in the world was she trying to do?

"I'm giving Bella the tour of Hollywood," I replied, focusing back on Blake. Bella was immediately by my side. She elbowed me in the ribs (Ow, why'd she do that??) and told Blake loudly, "Sonny's just kidding, we're actually going to... this place at the other... place." Then she hissed so that only I could hear, "Don't tell him where we're going! He could be a stalker!"

A... stalker.

Is she kidding me?

Before I could retort, Bella frowned at Blake, who now just looked bemused, and added, "So don't try and follow us, dude. Ok? Got it? Good. Come on, Sonny, let's go." She grabbed my arm and dragged me off. Gosh, that girl is _strong_. I managed to call over my shoulder, "Uh... bye, Blake!" before Bella had pulled me around the corner.

I managed to shake her off once we were near the parking lot, then asked in a shrill voice, "What was that all about?"

She gave me an annoyed look, folding her arms across her chest. "Sonny, do you really _like _that guy?"

"Well, yes!"

"You shouldn't!" She snapped. "He isn't right for you!"

I scoffed. "And how would you know who's right for me?"

"I just know!"

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at her. "Why do you even care if I like him or not?"

Bella folded her arms too and scoffed right back at me, but didn't answer right away. When she did reply, her voice was slightly higher pitched. "I don't care. Your personal life isn't my business. You can like whoever you want, and I _still _wouldn't care."

"Then why are you trying to convince me not to like Blake??"

"Because - Because - " she spluttered, then cleared her throat and made her face look blank. "I don't have to answer that. I don't have to answer anything." Before I could say a word she added randomly, "It's a free country!"

I pretty much gave up after that. Although I had a bunch of questions I would've loved to ask her (particularly about what she has against Blake), I wasn't about to risk my friendship with her for something as silly as this argument. So I took a deep breath, then said in a calmer voice, "Ok, fine. Let's just... stop talking about this and go have some fun. We'll forget we ever brought this up."

Bella seemed to soften a bit after I said that, even though she still looked a little ticked off. But she nodded. "Lead on."

As we walked, I heard Bella muttering something that sounded a lot like, "Stupid Blake. He's like a snake. A dirty, evil little snake. And he's gonna ruin everything. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..."

I think that's what she said, but I'm not positive.

She went on ranting quietly to herself. I just pretended not to hear.

We approached my silver car. Bella looked at it. "Cool car."

I smiled back at her. "Thanks!" She smiled back, and I knew she was feeling less irritated by the way her eyes lit up. I unlocked the doors, then climbed in the driver's seat and started the ignition. Bella sat down in the passenger's seat and buckled up. She seemed to have forgotten all about Blake and our little fight for the moment and was now babbling nonstop. "Hey, Sonny, what kind of music are we going to listen to? I like pop music, what about you? Hey, how come we're not moving yet? And by the way, what are we going to do in Hollywood, huh, huh, huh??"

She was talking so fast that the only thing I heard was her last question. So that was the one I answered. "Well, we're going to go shopping, for one thing - "

Bella blinked. "Shopping?"

I glanced at her as I pulled out of the parking lot. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well, I'm not a big fan of it..." She trailed off.

"Oh. Ok, then. Well, we don't have to shop if you don't want to - "

Bella laughed. "Hey, I said I'm not a big fan. That doesn't mean I'll say no to a little shopping spree!"

Her laughter was contagious, so I giggled with her. Then I asked, "Is there some place you want to go to?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. If there was, I forgot."

By now we were on the road. Both of us were silent for a few minutes. Bella stared out the window, watching the scenery. My mind drifted back to what had just happened earlier. Bella had been acting so oddly. What was her reason for disliking Blake? He seems like a really sweet guy. (Not to mention really cute.) What does she have against him? She should give him a chance.

...But they did meet each other this morning, and from the way I see it, they got along pretty well. Until, like, ten minutes ago. It can't be that she randomly decided to loathe his guts. She doesn't seem like the type of person who would act like that. So what other reason is there...?

It was a while before it hit me. Maybe she's mad at _me_, not Blake! Yeah, that has to be it! She must like him too! Why else would she be upset that I had a crush on him? She's jealous!

I was so shocked by this new revelation that I forgot to pay attention to the road. My hand must have slipped from the steering wheel or something, because the car swerved to the side and nearly hit a stop sign. I shrieked and slammed down on the brakes, managing to stop the car just inches away from the sign.

...Whew.

That was a close call.

I leaned back against my seat and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You ok, Bella?" I asked in a shaky voice.

Bella was clutching the seat, staring ahead with wide eyes. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Or maybe faint. When I spoke she turned to me. "What was up with that!?" Her voice rose hysterically. "We almost hit that stop sign! Are you trying to get us killed?? Or sent to jail??"

I waited until she began to relax, then answered, "No, sorry about that."

She slumped down in her seat and glared out the window. "Seriously, Sonny," she muttered. She said something else that I didn't catch, but I probably wasn't intended to hear it, so I didn't press her.

While she mumbled to herself, I checked to make sure no speeding cars, trucks, buses, or anything of that sort were coming, then backed up the car onto the road again. Once I was sure I wouldn't lose control of the steering wheel again, we drove on.

After what seemed like ages, I couldn't hold in my curiosity any longer. Yes, I know, curiosity killed the cat, and I feel sorry for the poor cat, but I just had to know! Keeping my eyes on road ahead, I asked slowly, "So, um, Bella, I was just wondering... you don't... _like_ Blake, do you?"

Bella sighed. "Sonny, you said we weren't going to talk abou - Wait. WHAT?" She gaped at me, then she started cackling. "L-Like him? Sonny, are you serious?? I don't like him!"

She sounds like me when I'm in denial.

Of course, I'm not in denial about anything. No, I'm not. The other people may say I am, but I'm totally not! So... so that really has nothing to do with the subject. At all.

"But you were mad that I have a crush on him. So you must like him too." Before she could interrupt I added kindly, "It's ok, if you like him, then I'll back off."

She looked like she was struggling with something. Finally, she blurted out, "I don't like him!" Then she gave me a hopeful look. "But you'll back off either way, right? Because you two wouldn't make a very good couple..."

I laughed and decided not to drop the subject. "We'll see."

"'We'll see'?" she mimicked. "Why don't you just say 'sure'?"

I avoided her question and instead announced, "Here we are!"

Bella promptly forgot about our discussion and pressed her face against the window. I couldn't see her expression, but her voice sounded high with excitement. "Oh, wow! Look at all the stores! This is awesome!! Ah, look, it's the sidewalk of stars!" She clapped her hands together. "So cool!"

I parked next to the sidewalk, and we both hopped out of the car. Bella made a beeline for the sidewalk and dropped down on her knees to gawk at the tiles, earning stares from the other people who were walking past her.

"Omigosh, this is so cool! Sonny, look, it's Simon Cowell's star!! Don't you just love to hate him? He rocks!" Without waiting for a reply, she took out her camera phone and snapped a bunch of pictures.

"Bella, are you done?" I asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, sure." She stood up, brushed off her pants, then waved her hands in the air. "Hey, everyone, look! I'm in Hollywood!! YEAH!!!"

The crowd of people glanced at her, then gave us a wide berth.

Bella just shrugged and said brightly to no one in particular, "I just wanted to make it official, and now it is! I'm absolutely certain that this is no dream." She grinned at me. "So, where to?"

"Follow me," I said, and led the way through the throng of people. I pointed ahead. "One of my favorite stores is over there. I'm pretty sure you'll like it too!"

"Well, if Sonny Munroe says that I'll like it, then it has to be true!" she laughed.

As we walked, we passed by a teenage girl with blonde hair who was standing by one of the store windows. She was saying something that sounded a lot like 'Where the hecky is Becky?'. At least, that's what I think she said. I'm not sure. Either way, as we walked by her, she glanced up at me, gasped, and raced in front of my. She stared at me for several seconds, then squealed loudly.

"Um... hi?" I said, a bit taken aback. Beside me, Bella just looked at the girl with raised eyebrows.

"Omigosh!!" the girl gushed. "You're Sonny Munroe! I love your show! _So Random! _sucked when Mandy was there, and you, like, totally made it way better! Can I have your autograph??"

"Oh, uh, sure!" I said, smiling at her, then began to dig in my purse for my pen. But the girl had already produced a sparkly pink pen and a pad of paper and was holding it out to me, beaming. I took the pen, thought about what to put, then wrote down, _Follow your dream and be who you want to be. If it's what you really want, then don't let anyone stand in your way. Sonny Munroe._

I drew a smiley face beside my name, then handed the paper and pen back to the girl. She hopped up and down, grinning. "This is great! Thanks, Sonny, I'll treasure this forever!" She eagerly turned to Bella, her pen and paper ready. Then she looked Bella up and down, and her grin faded. "Oh. You're not famous." She shrugged, then smiled at me and said cheerfully, "Bye!" She promptly walked off. Probably to go look for 'Becky' or something. I guess.

I glanced at Bella and almost laughed when I saw the indignant look on her face. "Hey, one day you'll be a famous actress too," I told her, giving her a warm smile. "And then that girl will want your autograph, not mine."

Bella giggled. "Awhh, thanks, Sonny!"

My smile widened, and I grabbed her hand. "Now, come on, we've got some major shopping to do!"

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Two hours and thirty-five minutes later, Bella and I walked out of one of the many stores we'd been to that day, loaded down with bags full of clothes, accessories, and other stuff. It was all really heavy, so we were both relieved when we made it to the car. Bella dropped her bags on the ground and sat down on the sidewalk, letting out a sigh. "Omigosh, that was so tiring."

"But fun!" I added brightly, setting my bags down for the moment so I could give my arms a rest.

"True," Bella agreed. "But just so we're clear, we aren't going on a shopping spree again for the rest of the week. I think I've bought enough clothes to fill a mall. No, make that two malls."

I rolled my eyes at her and started putting my bags in the backseat of the vehicle. "You're exaggerating."

She stuck her tongue out at me playfully, then helped me with the rest of the bags. Once we were done, I hopped in and started the car. Bella sat down in her seat and buckled up, then looked over at me. "Are you hungry?"

"Kinda. Not really." I looked at my watch. It was nearly twelve o'clock. "Are you?"

She nodded quickly.

"Ok... so where do you want to go eat?"

"Doesn't matter to me."

"...How about Burger King?" I suggested after a moment's thought.

A smile lit up her face. "Yeah, let's go there!" Then she proceded to gaze dreamily out the window.

My guess is she was thinking about hamburgers.

When we got to Burger King, I immediately ordered one of those whopper burgers. Bella glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. "A whopper? And you said you weren't that hungry."

I just laughed.

She ordered a Kid's Meal cheeseburger. Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows at her. "A Kid's Meal?"

"There's nothing wrong with getting a Kid's Meal!" she protested. "Besides, those toys are really cool! I once came out of Burger King with a squirrel that shoots nuts at people!"

"Oh. Well that's... nice."

Then we got our orders, and stopped talking so we could eat. After we were done, we went back to the car. Bella was holding the toy that she'd gotten from her Kid's Meal, a miniature walkie-talkie that didn't really work that well. But Bella still seemed happy with it. "Houston, we have a problem," she randomly told the walkie-talkie in a deep voice. I giggled at her antics. "It's good to know you like your toy."

She stopped fiddling with the walkie-talkie and looked at me. "Mmm hmm!" Then she smiled at me. "Thanks for showing me around Hollywood, Sonny! It was awesome!"

"Don't mention it," I told her, giving her a toothy grin.

After that we just talked and listened to the radio. I was pleased at how well today was going. Also, I was happy that Bella seemed to have forgotten about Blake. That had to be a good sign. So I was pretty sure that the rest of the week would be uneventful, without any more drama whatsoever.

Boy, was I ever wrong...

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**Hehe, that'll make you wonder what's going to happen...**

**Like I said, this wasn't that exciting, but the future chapters will have loads of Channy action! Oh, and I think you'll love what I have planned out... **

**Oh, and I really do have a toy squirrel that shoots nuts at people. Except it actually came from McDonalds, but whatever. It's a really epic toy. XD Just thought you'd like to know that fun little fact.**

**Ok, that's it. Review please!**


	10. Cherry pie and a foolproof plan

**Wow, it's been a while since I updated... sorry 'bout that! Again. ^^"' But I finally managed to think of something to write for this! It's another filler chapter, as usual, but the next chapter will be better, I promise. Ok, then, enjoy!**

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Bella's POV

You know, there was a time when I would've told anyone who cared to listen that my least favorite day of the week was Monday.

That time was yesterday.

Because so far this is turning out to be the best Monday in the whole fifteen years that I've been alive!! Well, technically it's sixteen years, since I'll be turning sixteen this December... but the point is that I love Monday! I mean, I got to go inside Hollywood stores and I got to see the sidewalk of stars! And I did it all with Sonny Munroe! I never would've thought in a million years that I'd be eating at Burger King with my role model, but it happened! WHOO!!

I'm not exaggerating either. In Louisiana, every Monday was always gloomy, dull, and boring. For me, anyway. Why? I don't know. Maybe there's some curse I don't know about. The Curse of the Mondays. And maybe some evil, Voldemort-ish wizard decided to put the curse on me, so that all my Mondays would be horrible. Or something like that.

Yeah. And then maybe he decided to give me a break. If that's the case, thank you Voldemort guy!

So basically, besides that whole Blake thing, today rocks my socks.

Which reminds me that I'm still freakishly angry at Blake. Yeah, I know, I'm not as mad as I was earlier, but I am still mad.

I mean, you'd be upset too if you'd made it your mission to hook up two celebreties, and then some dude walks in and threatens their relationship! And what's worse is that this guy helped me make breakfast this morning! Do you know how hard it is to be mad at someone who saved you from dying of starvation? It's really, _really _hard.

And I can't very well be mad at Sonny, can I? I mean, she's stubborn, but she's still my role model and always will be. Also, now that I've gotten to know her, she's my friend. And I can't be angry at Chad, because he hasn't done anything to me. Yet, anyway.

Maybe if I'm so desperate to be mad at someone, I should be mad at myself for getting involved in this. I mean, I wasn't even supposed to be playing matchmaker this week! I was just supposed to be chillaxing on the set of _So Random!_. And yet I want to see them together _so bad_.

Urgh. This is frustrating.

Of course, I'm still going to keep trying to get Sonny and Chad together. (Who said I wasn't?) I'm just going to have to speed up the process a bit. See, today was going to be my lazy day. I was just going to wander around the studio, look at all the sets and whatnot, and then put my plan into action tomorrow. But now that Blake is in the picture, I have no time for lazy days.

...Speaking of which, I still haven't got a clue how I'm going to get Chad and Sonny to realize their love for each other...

Yet another problem I have to deal with.

Sigh.

Anyway, I was so busy ranting to myself for, like, five freakin' minutes, that I didn't even notice we just pulled into the studio parking lot. Sonny's already out of the car. She looks kinda impatient. Better get out before she explodes at me.

I climbed out of the car with my bags, and Sonny said in exasperation, "Took you long enough."

"Sorry," I apologized. "I was thinking about today and I didn't even notice we were here."

Sonny immediately looked less irritated, and a cheerful smile lit up her face. "Ok, then! Come on, Bella, we have to get to the prop house and brainstorm ideas for Friday's show!"

Wow. I completely forgot that I was going to be on the show this Friday. Guess I've been a bit distracted.

As we walked into the studio, Sonny babbled away to me about some of the ideas she already had. I nodded and gave the occasional 'Uh huh' as she spoke, but I wasn't really paying attention. Instead, I was staring around the studio. I mean, even if I couldn't explore today, I could at least look at all the interesting things that were happening around me. Seriously, Condor Studios is a very interesting place. Sonny and I just passed by some guy dressed like a wedding cake.

A _wedding cake._

I was so busy gawking at the wedding cake man that I didn't watch where I was going, and I banged right into a door. "Ow!" I yelled, dropping all my bags, I rubbed my nose, which was now hurting like heck.

Sonny stopped walking and turned to me. She put a hand to her mouth, and I could tell she was holding back laughter. "Are you ok?" she asked, her voice sounding muffled behind her hand.

I nodded, still clutching my poor nose, then frowned at the door. Why'd the door have to be smack-dab right there in front of me?

Two seconds later, I brightened up and let go of my nose (which was still throbbing, by the way) and said eagerly, "Ooh, is there something behind this door??" I'm not sure why I got so excited about that door. I guess I thought there was, like, a cherry pie outfit in there that I could wear, like that guy dressed as a wedding cake. Either way, I pulled on the door, but it didn't budge. I pulled harder. Still no movement.

Sonny, who hadn't said anything up till now, was laughing freely. "It's locked, Bella."

"Whyyy?" I whined, looking at her. How could I get that cherry pie outfit if the door was locked?

"Because it's a janitor's closet. And the only things in there are brooms and mops."

I immediately let go of the doorknob. "Oh." Can't believe I was actually beginning to believe that there was a cherry pie outfit in there. Man, I am so stupid.

Anyway, skipping that embarassing scene, I dropped off my bags in my room, and then Sonny and I made our way into the prop house.

As we we went in, Tawni passed right by us, looking peeved.

"Tawni, where are you going?" Sonny said, her eyes wide. "We're having a meeting, remember?"

"If she's there, then I'm not coming," Tawni said tartly, glaring at me.

Huh. I used to admire her almost as much as much as Sonny. Some role model she turned out to be.

Ironic, ain't it?

"But, Tawni, we have to - " Sonny began.

"Look, Sonny, I don't have to go to your meeting," I told her. She turned to me, looking like she was about to protest, but I went on. "I'm not even part of the cast anyway. You need Tawni there more than you need me. Just tell me what you decided later on." She still looked like she was going to argue, so I added brightly, "Hey, I got an idea! I'll go on a fro-yo run! Do you guys want any yogurt?"

Grady and Nico appeared out of nowhere the minute I said 'fro-yo'. The promptly told me what they wanted, then sat down on the couch. Zora, who was inside the photo booth, poked her head out to tell me that she didn't want anything, then went back in.

Sonny still seemed unsure about me not being part of the meeting, but Tawni appeared happier. Which is good, since I'm trying to get everyone to like me.

After I wrote down what everyone wanted on a blank sheet of paper that I'd found on the table, I headed toward the cafeteria, feeling very pleased with myself.

Sonny's POV

After Bella left, Tawni immediately whipped out a mirror and began to look at herself. "Well, that takes care of that little problem."

"She's not a "problem", she's a guest," I argued.

Tawni frowned at me. "Seriously, Sonny, you're boring me. Didn't you want to talk about the show or something?"

I opened my mouth to say something to her, then closed it again. If Tawni wants to act up, then fine. I don't want to get in a fight with her. I just want to brainstorm. "Ok, so I was thinking that maybe we could do a sketch about a waiter in a restaurant," I said eagerly. "And he would always be mixing up orders! And then he comes over to this couple and - and - " I trailed off when I realized that no one was listening. "You guys!"

"What?" Grady asked, looking up at me.

"We're trying to discuss ideas for the show here!"

"Sorry, Sonny," Nico apologized. "But Grady and I were just thinking up a plan to get Bella to fall in love with me." He pumped his fist in the air. "It's completely foolproof!!"

Personally, I think Nico's fighting a losing battle there. Bella isn't showing any interest in him and she probably never will. But I wasn't about to say that out loud. What kind of a friend would I be if I told him that? Also, I curious to know what his plan was. Maybe I could even help him. "So what _is _your plan?"

"Oh, well, uh, we haven't actually thought of it yet..." Nico faltered, then added, "But it _will _be foolproof!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Well, maybe I can help you think of something."

Zora walked out of the photo booth and said sarcastically, "Yeah, because your ideas are always so wonderful."

"Hey!"

"Zora does have a point," Nico told me.

I folded my arms. "Well, maybe some of my ideas haven't been that great, I'll admit that." Then I grinned widely as a little thought popped into my mind.

"Oh, no. She's thinking." Zora said dryly. "Take cover!" She ducked underneath the table.

I ignored her. "I just thought of something that could help both Nico _and _the show!"

Tawni put down her mirror and raised an eyebrow at me. "Do tell."

"Ok, Bella likes romance, so - "

"Wait, how do you know that?" Grady looked confused.

"Because she told me," I replied.

"When?" Nico asked.

I sighed. "Look, my point is, we should do a sketch of Romeo and Juliet!" I beamed and looked around at them all, but they were just silent. So I went on really quickly. "Nico could be Romeo and Bella will be Juliet, and we could change it around a bit to make it funny, and then near the end Bella and Nico will kiss, and Bella will fall in love with him!" I seriously doubt Bella will fall in love with him, but still, you have to admit, it's a pretty good idea.

More silence.

Then...

"I think it's horrible," Tawni said flatly.

"No, it's brilliant!!" Nico exclaimed, jumping up. "It's the best idea you've ever come up with!"

I smiled at him, glad that he liked it.

"So then we agree? We're using that for our sketch?" Zora asked.

Everyone nodded. Well, except Tawni, who shrugged and started to file her nails. "Whatever."

"Good. Then I'm leaving," Zora announced, and promptly walked out of the prop house. Nico and Grady followed, babbling excitedly to each other.

I glanced at Tawni, who didn't seem to notice that everyone had left, then shrugged and went out too.

As I was heading towards my dressing room, I bumped into Bella. "Oh, hey, Bella!"

"Hi, Sonny." She looked distracted.

"Guess what?" I went on after she didn't say anything else. "We've decided to make a sketch of Romeo and Juliet! You'll be Juliet and Romeo will be - "

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Bella said, waving her hand in the air. "Hey, Sonny, is Zora still in the prop house?"

"Nope."

She frowned down at the ground, then looked back up. "Well, where's her dressing room?"

"She doesn't have a dressing room," I informed her. "She just hangs out in the vents."

Bella blinked. "The... vents?"

I nodded solemnly. She stared at me for a few seconds, as though she half expected me to be joking. "Ok, well, um, I need to go talk to her. Thanks, Sonny." She started to walk off, then came back and handed me the tray of frozen yogurt she was carrying. "Can you give this to the others?"

Well, it wasn't like I had anything better to do. "Sure."

Bella beamed. "Thanks again!" Then she bounded away.

I watched her disappear around the corner of the hallway. Huh. I wonder what she's up to?

Hmm...

Ah well. I shrugged to myself, then went to find Nico and Grady so I could give them their frozen yogurt.

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**Oooohhh... why is Bella so distracted? What is she planning??? Hehe... you'll find out in the next chapter...**

**Also, the next chapter will finally have some Channy! X3 YES!!!**

**Anyway, ciao, guys!! Don't forget to review!**


	11. Rock, Paper, Scissors

**YES! I updated quickly this time!! WHOO!!!! (cheers)**

**Ah, this chapter came out better than I expected... although sorry if Zora is a little OOC there, it's hard for me to write about her. ^^" **

**Anywho, thanks to DrowningxInxSapphire for pointing out some mistakes I've been making. I never noticed them before, so sorry 'bout that! But I think I fixed it. It think. If I didn't just tell me. :D This chappie is dedicated to you!**

**Ok, enjoy guys!**

**

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Bella's POV

Ok, so I'm not sure why this idea didn't occur to me earlier. I mean, there I was in the cafeteria, getting some frozen yogurt, when my mind started to wander. For some reason I started to think about pie, which made me think about that closet I'd bumped into.

And that's when it hit me. I could lock Sonny and Chad in the closet together! Yeah! I could leave them in there for I dunno how long, and by the time I get them out they'd probably be gushing over each other. Or, better yet, making out. Awwhh, that would be so adorable!

Yup. I was a total genius. I mean, it was the perfect plan. Then I realized there was one little flaw:

I don't have the key to the janitor's closet.

While I was trying to figure out what to do, I felt something on my hand. I looked down and saw that fro-yo was dripping down all over my arm. (Apparently I'd forgotten to stop pushing the button that made the yogurt come out of the machine. Guess I'm not that big of a genius after all...) Grabbing a paper towel, I wiped off the yogurt, then picked up the tray of fro-yo and walked out of the cafeteria, thinking hard.

There had to be a way to get the key. The janitor probably had it. I could ask to borrow it.

Then again, if I were a janitor and a complete and total stranger walked up to me asking to use the key for my closet, I would probably say no and tell them to get the heck away from me.

So that probably wouldn't work.

Another burst of inspiration came to me at that moment. Besides the janitor, there was only one person I could think of who might have the closet key.

Zora. Duh.

Of course, how would I explain why I needed the key? I can't go around telling people about my super secret mission. And anyhow, I didn't know where her dressing room was. More flaws to my otherwise brilliant plan.

That was when I bumped into Sonny, and she told me that Zora's dressing room was the vents. (I totally thought she was joking, but apparently she wasn't... then again, I'm not really surprised. Zora seems like the kind of person who would hang out in vents.) I gave my tray of fro-yo to Sonny, then ran off to find a vent. I managed to find one, then rushed back to the prop house to get a ladder, since it was way too high for me to reach.

Which is why I was now standing on a ladder, peering into a vent and feeling extremely stupid.

I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I decided I should do the polite think and knock. So I rapped against the wall with my knuckles. "Um, Zora? Are you there?" I whisper-yelled. I glanced down below, checking to make sure that no one was coming. If it turned out that Zora wasn't in there, I didn't want anyone to see me chatting with a wall.

"Zora?" I repeated.

I was beginning to think that I should come back another time when suddenly the vent opened, and Zora's face looked down at me. "Thanks for knocking."

"GAH!" I nearly fell off the ladder in shock when she popped out, but I managed to stay on. "Zora! Oh my gosh, thank goodness you're here, I thought I was going to have to come back and - "

"Do you need something?" Zora cut me off.

Oh, right. "Um, yeah, but we have to talk in private."

Zora sighed. "Ok, follow me." She turned and crawled deeper into the vents, then looked back when she noticed I wasn't following. "You coming??"

I frowned. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Zora, but I don't think I can fit in there..." Seriously, the vents looked freakishly small from my point of view.

Zora rolled her eyes. "You want to talk or not? Come on, woman, I don't have all day."

Well, I really needed that key... "Fine. But if I get stuck in there it'll be on your conscience." I sucked in my breath and clambered into the vents carefully, afraid that I would fall down to the ground below and break my neck or something. Zora scowled at me impatiently. "Hurry up!"

I obeyed and quickly scrambled in. Once in there, I blinked. "Hey, this place is actually kind of roomy. And comfortable..."

Zora interrupted again. "Look, what is it you want? I'm kinda busy trying to get my soda fountain to work."

"Oh, ok. Wait, you have a soda fountain in the _vents_?"

"Yup." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I shouldn't be surprised at that. I really shouldn't.

I took a deep breath. I'd been thinking about casually asking if she had the key to the janitor's closet, and if she asked why I wanted it then I would say I needed to get a mop. Then I could go on my way, and she could go work on her soda fountain.

But what popped out of my mouth was very different from what I'd been planning to start off with. "I'm going to lock Sonny and Chad in a janitor's closet." Then I realized what I'd just said and clamped my hand over my mouth. But Zora had already heard. She blinked at me, then shook her head. Surprisingly, she didn't look that shocked. "Ok. Is that it?"

"Welllll..." I said, drawing out the word. "It's locked, and I kinda need the key..."

Before I could finish explaining, Zora took a tiny, copper colored key out of her pocket and held it out to me. "Well, you came to the right place," she said smugly. "I stole it from the janitor. Pickpocketing's my thing right now."

I grabbed the key. "Oh. That's nice to know. Well, if you don't mind, I'll just take the key and goooooo..." My voice trailed off as another fantastic idea struck me. (Where am I coming up with all these ideas??) "Hey, Zora, maybe you can help me!" I exclaimed, smiling in delight.

She folded her arms. "Well, I don't really feel like asking you why you're doing this... but I guess I can help you anyway. Still, my help will come with a price."

My smile slid off my face. "A price?"

She nodded solemnly.

"...How about I just let you wear black?"

Zora perked up and grinned evily. "Awesome! It's a deal!"

I promptly began to tell her the details. "All right, here's what we'll do..."

Sonny's POV

"Zora, where are we going?" I asked the eleven year old who was currently dragging me down the hallway. I'd been in my dressing room when Zora had come walking in, wearing a completely black outfit and carrying a net. She sat down on the couch and sighed sadly for about eight seconds before I finally turned and asked her what she needed. Then she told me that she needed me to aid her on some... mission. Or something. I'd said I would help, but... well, something had felt wrong... I couldn't quite put my finger on it...

Anywho, back to what I was saying.

Zora frowned at me. "I already told you. Weren't you listening?"

"Um...no."

Zora muttered something, then said, "I heard a rumor that there are some evil packrats in the janitor's closet. If it's true, I'm going to try and capture them, tame them, and raise them as my pets!"

Oh. Well, that explained the net.

And what's a packrat?

"So, uh, why do you need me?"

"Because these are evil packrats we're dealing with," Zora said seriously. Her eyes widened dramatically, and she yelled, "EVIL, I TELL YOU!!" I jumped, a little alarmed, but then Zora's face became calm again. She continued in a solemn tone, "They could rip a kid like me to shreds. So I needed someone to come along and help me."

"...Ok, then." A little alarm was going off in my head as she told me this, but I ignored it. Zora did things like this all the time. It wasn't unusual.

After a few minutes of walking, Zora stopped at a door, which I recognized as the one Bella had bumped into earlier. "Now what?" I asked loudly. Zora hissed, "SSHHH!!"

When I stared at her, she whispered, "If you talk too loudly, you'll freak them out! Now keep quiet while I check to see if they're in there." She pressed her ear to the door and listened. Then she straightened up, looking satisfied. "I hear breathing. They're in there."

I frowned. "So what do we do?" I whispered back.

"Well, _I'm _going to stay here while _you _go in there and get the packrats."

"What!?" I gawked at her. "That's totally unfair!"

"No, it isn't."

"It was your idea, you should go in there!"

"You wanted to help, this is how you can help."

"But - But - "I stuttered.

She grinned at me. "All right then!" She pushed the net into my hands, then took out a key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and quickly pushed me in before I could do anything. "See ya, Sonny!"

Then the door closed, and I heard the lock click.

My eyes widened, and I started to pound against the door. "Hey, wait, Zora, what're you doing? You can't lock me in here!!"

No answer.

I stopped pounding on the door and looked around the closet. Everything was dark, and I could barely see. All I knew was that I was in a really tight, enclosed space. I didn't have much room, and it didn't help that there were probably brooms and mops and stuff in here too. I sighed.

I'm wasn't sure why Zora locked me in here. Either it had something to do with the packrats or maybe this was all just a prank.

But why would Zora prank me? We're castmates!

And then I forgot what I was thinking about, because suddenly I heard something behind me. I clutched the net in my hands, suddenly feeling scared. Maybe there really were evil packrats (whatever those are) in here. I backed deeper into the closet and bumped into something warm. Without thinking, I turned and hit whatever the warm thing was with the net.

"OW!" said the thing.

Huh. Can packrats talk?

Speaking of which, that voice sounded really familiar...

I gasped and dropped the net. "Chad?"

"Thanks for hitting me, Sonny. It made my day," he replied in a sarcastic voice.

I winced. "Sorry about that. I thought you were an evil packrat."

"A _what?_"

"Never mind." My eyes were beginning to adjust to the dim light, and now I could see Chad in front of me, rubbing his head where I had hit him. I smiled a bit, then I raised my eyebrows. "What're you doing in here, anyway?"

Still rubbing his head, he admitted, "I heard a camera clicking."

"...So?"

He scoffed at me. "Well, anybody taking pictures would just _love_ a photo with Chad Dylan Cooper. So I followed the sound of the camera here, and someone locked me in." He stopped talking when he noticed that I was giggling. "It's not funny," he growled.

"Yes, it is!" I laughed, clutching my sides. "I can't believe you followed the sound of a camera!"

"I can't believe you thought I was an evil packrat," he shot back.

I stopped laughing and frowned at him.

He smirked. "Ha."

I swiftly changed the subject. "Didn't you try getting out of here?"

"Of course I did," he scoffed. "I'm not stupid, you know."

"Are you sure about that, Chad?" I mumbled.

He glowered at me. "Anyway, someone will come get us out of here. One of my fans, most likely. They always come to me in my time of need," he added dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Right. While we wait for your subjects, how about we do something to pass the time?"

"Like what?"

...That was a very good question, Cooper.

We sat next to each other in silence as I thought about it. After a while I became uncomfortably aware of how close I was sitting next to him. It was way to close for my liking. I scooted over a bit. Unfortunately, he noticed and scootched closer. I glared at him and he grinned back in that annoying cocky way of his.

Urgh. He's trying to push my buttons again.

I hate it when he does that.

I forced myself to stop thinking of that and tried to focus on how to pass the time. I was coming up with a blank so far.

Then I perked up. "Ooh, let's play rock, paper, scissors!"

He looked at me as though I was crazy. "Sonny, we're in a _closet_."

I shrugged. "What's your point?"

"First of all, it's a kid's game. Second, I don't play kid's games when I'm in closets."

I frowned. He was such a party pooper. "Aw, come on, Chad!"

"No."

"...Please?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.

"Not in a million years."

I grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "Pretty please with ice cream and banana sprinkles on top??"

He raised his eyebrows. "Ice cream and _what_?"

Ignoring his comment, I pouted and folded my arms across my chest. "I'll bet you're scared that I'll beat you."

"Am not."

I slowly began to smile. "Oh, yes, you are."

Chad narrowed his eyes. "I'm not scared of you beating me!"

"Prove it!"

"I don't have to! I'm Chad Dylan Cooper, and I don't have to prove anything. Besides, you will never, _ever,_ get me to play rock, paper, scissors with you!"

_**Sixteen Minutes Later...**_

"Ha! My scissors beat your paper!" I yelled triumphantly, pumping my fist in the air.

Chad glared daggers at the floor. "I can't believe you made us play rock, paper, scissors."

I smirked at him. "Well, I knew you'd crack eventually."

"You cheated, though!" he protested, pointing at me accusingly. "You kept making those chicken noises, and you knew it would make me play!"

I nodded smugly. "Yup. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He continued to glower at me.

I laughed and bumped his arm playfully with my hand, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on, cheer up. I mean, it's not like there's anything better to do in here."

He didn't say anything. But then he grinned. "Oh, I think I can think of something..."

The little alarm in my head finally started to go off. "Um, what do you mean?"

"Weeelll," he said slowly. "You remember when I guest starred on Chuckle City?"

"Uh huh." I wasn't quite sure where this conversation was headed.

"And do you remember when you said you wouldn't kiss me for real until pigs fly?" he went on, his grin widening. "Well, Sonny, the pig flew."

WHAT?!

"Wha - ? Pfft!" I waved my hand, trying to pretend that it was nothing, although my heart was starting to beat really, _really _fast for some reason I don't know of. "The pig didn't fly, it bounced on a trampoline! And I never said that."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"...Didn't."

"Did."

"Ha!" His grin widened even more, if that was possible. "You admit it!"

How dare he use my own thing against me? I scoffed. "That doesn't count."

"Yes, it does, because you really did say that. Meaning you owe me a kiss."

"I will never kiss you," I argued, glaring ferociously at him.

"Sonny, we're in a locked closet," he reminded me. "It's not like you have a choice."

Darn. That was a good point.

He started to lean forward. I could feel my resolve weakening. "But - "

He put a finger against my lips. "Shh. The time for talking is over."

I made the mistake of looking into his deep, ocean blue eyes and practically melted. Without even thinking about it, I began to move my face towards him, completely forgetting about everything except the fact that he was getting closer by the second...

And then the closet door opened.

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**Ooooohhh... cliffie.**


	12. First Day Failure

**WOOT! Nine reviews for the last chapter!! X3 You guys are AWESOME!!!**

**Ok, so this chapter is a lot shorter than the rest, because I couldn't figure out exacly what to put here. This definitely isn't my favorite chapter, although I did like writing about Portlyn. ^^ Anyway, I probably wn't be able to update in, like, a week or so, because midterms are coming up. Blegh. So if a new chapter doesn't come up soon, then that's why.**

**Anyway, hope you guys like!**

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Bella's POV

I was feeling very pleased with myself. Really, I was. I mean, I managed to lock Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper into a closet together. Now, how many girls besides me can say that?

That's right. None.

BOO YAH!!

I have to say, Zora and I make a pretty good team. We had it all planned out perfectly. I would go to the _Mackenzie Falls_ set and wait for Chad to come out, then I would hide and take pictures with my camera phone. According to Zora, the sound of the camera clicking would lure him to the closet. (It worked, but it took _forever_ to delete all those worthless photos I'd taken!) Then, once he was in there, I would give the key to Zora, who would ask Sonny to help her capture packrats from the closet. Then, once they were there, Zora would push Sonny in and lock the door.

So pretty much everything went according to plan. Now all I had to do was wait for, oh, an hour or so, and then they should hopefully realize their feelings for each other!

Anyway, after Zora had gone back inside the vents to fix her soda fountain, I headed over to my room and turned on the TV. I flicked through the channels, but there wasn't much on. So I decided to go to the cafeteria and annoy Howie. (Annoying people is actually pretty fun, you know. It helps to pass the time.)

As I was going down the hallway, I passed by Tawni, who was looking at herself in a mirror as she walked. (Oh, gee, big surprise.) "Hi, Tawni," I told her, again trying to make an effort at being nice.

She glanced at me, then continued walking.

Well, at least she acknowledged my existence.

I continued to make my way to the cafeteria, but suddenly Tawni was back, and she was frowning down at me. "What's that in your hand?"

I looked down. I had the closet key in my hand. Huh. That was weird. I thought I had put it in my pocket. "Nothing, it's nothing at all." I waved my free hand in the air, trying to laugh it off. Tawni didn't look like she believed me. My assumption was proved correct when she said, "I don't believe you." She pointed. "That's the key to the janitor's closet."

How the heck did she know that??

I scoffed. "No, it isn't."

"You're lying," she accused. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I know _exactly_ what you're doing!!"

Dang it. "You do?" I asked, trying to look as blank as I possibly could.

"Oh ho, don't play innocent with me! You're hiding something in the janitor's closet that you'll use to ruin my career!" she exploded at me. "And you thought I would never think you were hiding your... your thing in a closet, but I did! I knew you were out to get me the minute you stepped foot in this studio!"

I just stared at her, my mouth hanging open. She thought I was out to get her? What??

Before I could say anything, Tawni had snatched the key from my hand. "Tawni Hart will _not _be upstaged!" Then she ran off.

It took a few seconds before the realization of what she was going to do sunk in. Then I gasped. She was going to open the closet! She would ruin the whole thing!! I pelted after her, yelling at the top of my lungs, "Tawni, give it back!!"

People stopped and stared at us as we passed by. I didn't care. I dodged some girl who was standing in the middle of the hallway and raced around the corner, hot on Tawni's trail. I was gaining on her.

Tawni skidded to a halt next to the closet and fumbled with the key for a moment, which gave me the time I needed to come up beside her and grab her arm. "Give it!"

"Never!" she hissed at me, tugging her arm away from me. And, before I could try wrestle the key out of her grip, she had put it inside the lock and opened the door.

There was Sonny and Chad, leaning toward each other. They were about to kiss!! Then Sonny looked up and saw us. Her mouth dropped open.

I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Tawni.

"Well, you two look busy," I laughed nervously. "I'm just gonna... close the... door..."

"NO!!" Sonny practically screeched and flung herself forward, trying get out before I could shut the door. I pushed against the door, doing my best to slam it shut, but it was really hard to do that with Sonny shoving all her weight against it on the other side. I whipped my head around to look at Tawni, who was just standing there looking stunned. "Help me out here!"

Surprisingly, Tawni didn't object, and proceeded to aid me in trying to close the door. But either Chad decided to help Sonny or else she had superhuman strength (I'm guessing it's the first one) because suddenly the door flung open. While Tawni and I were knocked down to the ground, Sonny scrambled out of the closet and sped off, moving faster than I would've thought possible.

I propped myself up by my elbows and narrowed my eyes at Tawni. "Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Why're you so bothered, anyway?" Tawni asked suspiciously.

"I'm not," I denied quickly. She raised an eyebrow. Darn it, I had answered way too fast.

Luckily, Chad exited the closet then, dusting off his jacket. Tawni, who apparently didn't feel like talking to Chad, got to her feet and quickly walked off. Chad glanced down at me and smirked. "Ah, I knew one of my fans would come to save me. Didn't think it would be a Random, though."

I frowned at him. "Yeah, whatever." I wasn't feeling too pleased anymore, if you could tell from my sarcastic tone. I mean, Chad and Sonny were just inches, no, _centimeters, _away from kissing, and Tawni just had to go and open the freaking door.

Screw trying to get along with Tawni.

I know, I'm being harsh, but she completely ruined the whole plan. Urgh.

I stood up. "Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to check up on Sonny, see if she's all right after you tried to kiss her."

Chad blinked, then said in an attempt at nonchalance, "Pfft! I was not trying to kiss her! I was - I was - well, there was something on her face, and I was trying to wipe it off."

"With your lips?" I asked dubiously.

"Y - Yeah." He scoffed. "That doesn't mean I was going to kiss her." His voice rose a pitch.

He was so in denial.

"Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that, Chad," I told him, rolling my eyes. I started to walk off, but Chad stopped me. "Hey, can you give this to Sonny?" he asked, handing me a net. "She was trying to use it to capture evil packrats." He snorted. "Evil packrats. How dumb can you get?"

"Sonny is _not _dumb!" I defended her. I had to remind myself that he was only saying that to hide the fact that he really liked her. If that hadn't been the case, I probably would've attacked him for talking about my role model like that. Or something.

Chad waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, that's nice to know. Now, I have to go to my set. So..." He raised his hand, making a peace out sign at me. "Peace out, sucka!" Then he ran off.

I shook my head. Part of me felt like laughing at him, but the other part of me just wanted to go to my room and sulk. But I couldn't sulk. It was just the beginning of the week, I couldn't give up now!! I would get them together, no matter what!

I skipped off to Sonny's dressing room to see how she was doing, feeling a bit better.

Although I can't deny it. Failure on the first day really sucks.

Chad's POV

After we shot the first scene in the new episode, Portlyn came over to me and immediately asked, "Ok, what happened?"

I glanced at her from where I was sitting and put down my loganberry smoothie. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Portlyn."

She slapped my arm. Ow, what the heck? "I think you do know what I'm talking about. You've been distracted the whole time we were shooting. You even messed up one of your lines."

She noticed that? Huh. I guess Portlyn is smarter than she looks. Weird. "I didn't mess up my line," I informed her. "I actually meant to change it around."

"Oh, really?" She shoved the script in my face. "Your original line was 'Portlyn, I have something to tell you.' You changed it to 'Portlyn, you have pretty hair.'" She frowned. "I mean, how do you change the line from being about a talk to _pretty hair??_"

That's what I'd said? I mean, I knew I'd said the wrong thing, but I didn't know I'd told Portlyn that she had pretty hair. I looked at her, wrinkling my nose. Ew. No one in their right mind would tell her that.

Suddenly, the annoyed look disappeared off of Portlyn's face, and she began to nod understandingly. "Ah, I see. You've been talking to Sonny again, haven't you?"

"What?" I frowned at her. "Psh! Portlyn, that is so not true." That was a big fat lie. My thoughts wandered to Sonny. Back in the closet, when I'd told her about the pig thing, I was just teasing her, to see her get nervous. She's cute when she gets nervous. (Actually, she's cute all the time. Stupid, stupid cute.) But then, for some reason, I'd actually started to _want _to kiss her. And I probably would have, too, if Blondie hadn't opened the door. Dumb Blondie.

N - Not that I cared that Blondie had stopped us from kissing! No! I mean, I was completely glad to get out of there. Yup.

Portlyn's voice brought me back out of my thoughts. "Chad, you may be a good actor, but you're a horrible liar." Her eyes lit up. "Did you and Sonny finally get together?"

What? What the heck is up with people these days? It seems that everywhere I go, there's always one person that wants me and Sonny to become a couple. Well, we won't! I mean, can't these people see that we hate each other! Sure, sometimes I feel weirdly attracted to her, but that's because I'm a boy! Boys are attracted to girls! That does _not _mean I like Sonny.

"No, we didn't." I got up out of my chair. "I don't like Sonny in that way."

"You pretty much just admitted that you like her," Portlyn pointed out.

I glared at her. "This discussion is over." Then I stalked regally off the set, past my Do Not Admit wall (speaking of which, I have to remember to put up that Blake guy's picture on there...), and out into the parking lot, where my convertible was parked. I wondered briefly how Sonny was doing, and if the Bella girl had given her that net. (Seriously, evil packrats? I can't believe Sonny was trying to capture evil packrats. Is there even such a thing?) Then I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No. I was not going to think about Sonny anymore. I was going to go home and focus on the most important thing in the history of most important things: my hair.

Yes. That was what I was going to do.

But as I drove off, I found myself thinking about what would have happened if the door hadn't opened...

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**Heh. Did any of you guess that it was Tawni who opened the door? You probably did. **

**Anyway, this is the last chapter for Monday. The next chapter will be the start of Tuesday. I can't wait! :) Well, bye for now!**


	13. Detective Bella, at your service

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WOOT! Midterms are over! And my birthday was on Thursday! ^^ I'm a teenager now!! I'm so happy!

**I was going to update on my birthday, but it was taking me a while to write this, so sorry about that. But I made it a long chapter for you guys since I haven't updated in a while, so I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own SWAC... sigh...**

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Sonny's POV

The sun shining through my bedroom window was what woke me up. I sat up in my bed and stretched. Wow. Tuesday already. Time really does fly by fast. I clambered out of bed and staggered into the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face so that I would wake up fully. Then I brushed the tangles out of my hair, taking my time as I thought about what had happened yesterday.

Yes, I still couldn't stop thinking about that. I know, I'm probably obsessing over it. But still. I mean, I didn't know why someone had locked Chad and I in the closet together, but I didn't really care. All I cared about was the fact that he'd been about to kiss me! And, although I'd tried to push him away at first, I'd actually wanted him to. Which was really weird.

Ugh. It was all because of his darn Chad charm. Usually it's an exception with me, but yesterday, when we'd been all alone in that closet, it just, like, caught me off guard and... dazzled me.

Darn Chad.

Anyway, the point is, he was about to kiss me, but then someone opened the door. When I looked, I saw Bella and Tawni standing there, goggling at us. I'm pretty sure I goggled back at them. For half of a second, I was disappointed. (For some odd reason. It's definitely NOT because my almost-kiss with Chad was interrupted! Pfft! Psh! That's ridiculous!) Then I realized that the door was open, and I could get out of there! Which is exactly what I did. Tawni and Bella tried to close the door on me (They come to save me then try to lock me back in?? Am I the only one that sees something wrong with that?!), but Chad must've helped me push open the door, because it suddenly snapped open. And then I was FREE!!

I charged off before anyone tried to tackle me and force me back into that closet. (Nobody would get me to go back in there! Nobody!) I didn't stop running until I reached my dressing room, and once I got there I plopped onto the couch and hyperventilated. Which is the only logical thing to do when your rival tries to kiss you in a janitor's closet.

Minutes later, I heard a knock on the door, and Bella poked her head inside the room. "Sonny?" she asked, looking uncertain, then she saw me and slid into the room, closing the door behind her. She came up to me and handed me a net. "Uh... you forgot this."

I gazed blankly at the net in my hands, then remembered what Zora had asked me to do for her. Oops. Hopefully she wouldn't kill me for not capturing her packrat thing. Then again, maybe she'll forgive me and let me off easy. You never know with Zora.

Bella stood there, looking around awkwardly. She opened and closed her mouth, apparently wanting to tell me something but always changing her mind at the last minute. Finally, she sighed. "Hey, Sonny, if you need to talk to me about anything, just let me know." When I didn't answer, she added in what she must've thought was a casual voice, "Particularly about a certain guy on a drama show - "

"I don't like Chad!" I yelled, interrupting her in mid-sentence.

She smiled, a bit smugly, I think, and said, "I never said anything about Chad."

I didn't know what to say to that. When Bella figured out that I wasn't going to answer, she waved goodbye, said that she'd see me tomorrow (I hadn't even realized it was so late until that moment), then left.

Soon after that, I'd gone home, too. I'd greeted Mom, changed and such, and then headed straight for bed.

And now it was Tuesday. Again, wow.

After I was done in the bathroom, and went into the kitchen, poured some cereal, and sat down to eat. Mom was there, reading a magazine. _Tween Weekly_. (Figures. Even my mother reads a teenager magazine.) She put it down and smiled brightly at me. "Morning, sunshine!" she chirped.

I grinned back at her, pushing thoughts of Chad to the back of my mind. "Hi, Mom. You already ate?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Hey, look at this!" She held up the magazine and pointed to a picture of Jackson Tyler. "Did you know that they're making another TwiDark movie? Ooh, sequel!!" She squealed. I laughed. And, of course, my mom was obsessed with TwiDark, too. It seems that a lot of people love it these days. I took the magazine from her and looked dreamily at Jackson Tyler's picture.

Ah, Jackson Tyler. With his handsome face, muscular body, and his amazing eyes that shine like a thousand rubies! So unlike Chad, who only has one sparkly eye...

And why was I even thinking about Chad??? Urgh.

I handed her back the magazine and quickly finished eating, then rushed back into my room to change. Once I was sure I was ready to go, I grabbed my car keys and walked out the door, yelling over my shoulder, "Bye, Mom!"

"Bye, honey, have a good day at the studio!" she called back.

"I will!" I skipped to my car, feeling fresh and more optimistic. Today would be another good day, I would see to that! No Chad, no drama, no _nothing_. It would just be a normal day in the studio. Yup. Oh, and yesterday, before I left for home, I talked to Marshall about the Romeo and Juliet sketch. He'd said yes to it, and so today we would start rehearsing for it. I hoped Bella was a good actress. I mean, she was my friend, and I wouldn't care if she was the worst actor in the world, but if she was going to be Juliet then she would have to be good. Otherwise it probably wouldn't work out.

Speaking of Bella, I wonder what she's up to...?

Bella's POV

Yay. Second day at the studio. Wahoo.

Yeah, if you can't tell, I was still a bit bummed about yesterday... but I would get over it. Once I found something to do, anyway. I was just sitting here on my bed, not moving. I hadn't changed yet, so I was still in my fuzzy pink pajamas. Which is weird, because I'm not even that crazy about the color pink. Why did I buy these pajamas again? Oh, yeah, my mom bought them for me 'cause they were on sale...

And wow, I am really getting distracted. That seems to happen with me a lot.

Now, what I should be doing is going to get breakfast. Especially now that I knew how to get it.

So I forced myself to stand and go change into something that I could wear around the studio, then trudged out of the room, making my way to the cafeteria. Once I got there, I went up to Howie and asked, "Can I go make a sandwich?"

He glanced at me, then went back to preparing food. For lunch, I guess. "Yeah, whatever."

I nodded at him, then went through that back door that led into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. You know, the kind that _Blake _tought me to make. Urgh. I hated that guy. I hated the fact he helped me make this sandwich. But it was the only thing I was sure I could eat for breakfast. You know, unless they had cereal in here. Which I doubted.

Anyway, I finished eating my sugary sandwich, then left the cafeteria, still feeling gloomy. Sonny and the others wouldn't be getting here anytime soon, so I was stuck with nothing to do. I went into the prop house and plopped down on a stool that was next to the photo booth.

Bella, think. There _had _to be something to do.

Then I felt my face light up as I got an idea. I still hadn't really explored the whole studio yet, so I could do that now! And while I explored, I would ask people if they'd noticed anything going on with Sonny and Chad! That way, I would be having fun _and _doing my work all at the same time!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I am a genius.

Ooh, I'd be like a detective! Which gave me another idea... why not dress up the part while I was at this?

Grinning, I searched around the prop house for something that would make me look detective-y. I found one of those hats that you usually see Sherlock Holmes wearing, a plaid cape thing, and a magnifying glass.

I put on the cape, placed the hat on my head, and held up the magnifying glass, then looked at myself in the mirror. Wow. I looked... um, what's the word...? Fancy. Yeah, I looked fancy!

"Detective Bella, at your service," I tried saying, making my voice sound solemn. Ooh, that sounded cool!

Swishing my new cape around, I straightened up, gave my reflection a thumbs-up, then ran out of the prop house. (I nearly tripped over the dang cape as I did so, but luckily I regained my balance.)

I made my way through the hallway, looking through my magnifying glass at, well, everything. I'm pretty sure I earned some weird looks from the few people that were there, but whatever. It's not like I cared.

I pranced up and down the halls, exploring every little thing. Occasionally, I stopped people in the hallway to ask them stuff about Sonny and Chad. Mostly, the answers were the same. "Never noticed a thing," they would usually say. Then there was this other guy that freaked out at me when I asked him about them. He said a bunch of stuff like 'Why would I know?' and 'You people should mind your own freakin' business!'. He also said a bunch of other things I probably shouldn't repeat.

So I hadn't gotten many good answers. But I was not giving up! Because detectives do NOT give up!! (Just look at Nancy Drew. Even when she was, like, stuffed in the locked trunk of a car or something, she didn't give up, managed to get out, and capture the criminal. Or something like that. Of course, I wasn't locked in the trunk of a car, so this had nothing to do with me...)

Anyway, I was walking onto another set, staring at the floor through my magnifying glass, when I bumped into someone. "Sorry," I said, trying to go around the person.

The guy blocked me. "You can't come on this set, it's closed to the cast only," he said, his voice sounding apologetic. Huh. I knew that voice from somewhere...

I looked up, and there was Blake, the person I least wanted to meet at the moment.

Crap.

He smiled at me when he recognized me. "Hey, Bella!"

I frowned and straightened up, folding my arms across my chest. "Blake," I said coolly.

He looked me up and down, his smile widening. "I thought Halloween was in October," he laughed.

"For your information, I am trying to gather clues," I shot back at him, my eyes narrowing. "It's very important business."

"Oh, really? What clues are you trying to get?" he asked, looking amused.

I opened my mouth to tell him, then closed it again. I couldn't exactly tell him about Sonny and Chad. I mean, he apparently liked Sonny, so I wasn't going to be the one to tell him that her soul mate was someone else. I mean, come on. I'm not that cruel.

"I - I - " I stammered, trying to think up a good excuse.

He shook his head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I was so surprised at his words that I think the glare I was giving him softened. "Ok. Fine. I won't tell you. Goodbye." I turned and started to walk off, but his hand on my shoulder stopped me. He turned me back around and looked at me earnestly. I blushed and had to stare down at the floor so that I wouldn't meet his gaze. 'Cause I'm a sucker for green eyes.

He cleared his throat. "Hey, um, Bella, do you know if Sonny has a boyfriend or anything?"

I'd calmed down a bit after he'd acted nice and stuff, but when he said that I felt bitterly disappointed for some reason, and then anger flared up inside of me. I snapped my head up to look at him and said coldly, "No. Why?" I suddenly became aware that his hand was still on my shoulder, so I shook it off and backed away a bit.

He looked embarrased. "Well... um... I was thinking of asking her out later..."

Oh. My. Gosh. I knew this was coming. I knew it.

My frown deepened, and I turned, remarking over my shoulder, "Good luck with that. I gotta go. Bye." I trotted off before he could stop me again. I was seething. Once again, Blake was posing another threat. Not only did he like Sonny, he also wanted to go on a date with her. In a way I was glad that he'd told me that. Now I'd just have to make sure that Sonny was never alone with Blake, or else he might ask her out. I could _not _let that happen.

Unknowingly, I'd stopped near another set. I looked around and saw the sign on the wall. Ah. I was at the _Mackenzie Falls _set. Interesting. I wondered if anyone was here. Pushing thoughts of Blake to the back of my head, I started to walk inside, then stopped when I saw the Do-Not-Admit wall. I saw pictures of people there that I recognized. Zac Efron was there, and so was Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Jackson Tyler. And the cast of _So Random! _was there, too.

Except for Sonny.

I looked at the pictures through my magnifying glass, nodding to myself. No Sonny on here at all. Oh ho, more evidence that Chad likes her... otherwise, he would've put her picture up there. But he didn't, so... yeah.

Also, my picture wasn't up there, so I was pretty sure I could go onto their set.

Which was what I did. I walked through the doors, then looked around. Wow. Cool place, they had here. There was a bunch of treats in one corner, not to mention a chocolate fountain. If I wasn't full I would've made a beeline for the fountain.

While I was observing my surroundings, I heard a voice say, "Well, who are you?"

I turned to see a girl, wearing the Mackenzie Fallsuniform, glaring at me, her hands on her hips. I'd watched Chad's show a few times, so I vaguely recognized her. "You're... Portlyn, right?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

"Yeah. Who are you?" she said, still looking unfriendly.

"Bella. Bella Lambert," I introduced myself. "I'm the girl who's staying on the _So Random! _set."

She looked me up and down, the way Blake had did, except she seemed disgusted. "You're a fashion disaster, that's what you are. What are you wearing??"

"Huh? Oh, this is my detective outfit!" I told her, grinning.

She shook her head. "Eh... yeah, sure."

I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. I glanced around. "Are you the only one here?"

"Yeah." She gave me an odd look. "Why?"

"Well, I'm gathering clues." I pointed at my magnifying glass for extra emphasis. "And I can't have anyone overhearing our discussion." I cleared my throat. "So you know Sonny and Chad, right?"

"Um, duh."

"Yeah, well, have you noticed that seem to... oh, I dunno... like each other?" I blinked at her hopefully, although I was pretty sure I was going to get the same answer I'd gotten from everyone else.

To my surprise, her eyes widened, and she held a hand dramatically to her chest. "Yes! I have! I mean, everyone who knows them can see it!"

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, I know! Well, do you think you could tell me some more about their relationship?"

She suddenly looked suspicious. "Why exactly do you want to know?"

I wasn't sure about telling her my plan, but I suddenly felt like I could trust her. "I'm trying to hook them up," I admitted.

A smile appeared on her face. "Well, that's awesome!" she said. "Because they really need to get together. You should see the way Chad obsesses over her. I mean, he never says anything, but you can tell he likes her. Just yesterday he messed up one of his lines and said something about pretty hair."

Pretty hair? "When was this?" I asked quickly.

She looked thoughtful. "Oh, probably around, uh..." She counted on her fingers. "Five o'clock or something. Why?"

That was after I locked Sonny and Chad in the closet together! Chad must've been thinking about his almost kiss with Sonny. I promptly told Portlyn about the whole closet thing. She looked amazed. "Wow. Hey, at the rate you're going, you could probably get them to be a couple by the end of the week." She looked excited at the prospect of this.

I smiled. "Yeah, that would be great. Oh, and you can't tell anyone about our talk," I told her.

She shrugged. "Sure thing. Ooh, and if I see anything going on with Chad I'll try and tell you about it."

I nodded, beaming at her. "Awesome!" Then I held out my hand to her. She stared at it for a moment, then hesitantly shook it. I smiled at her, then turned and waved goodbye. "See ya, Portlyn!" I left quickly before any other people would come in and see me there.

As I walked back to my room, I grinned. I'd always thought Portlyn was a bit dumb. You know, from the TV show and all. But she actually seemed smart. And she was going to help me out, too!

Ah... this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

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**Another filler chapter... well, review and tell me how you like it! X3**


	14. Google is a funny word

**Hullo! ^^ Long time, no see! Heh, I've taken a while in updating because of a writer's block, but I'm back! And I think you guys'll like this chapter... at least, I hope you will. Anyway, I'm not gonna stop you from reading any longer. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Oh, yeah, and thanks for all the reviews! I got a lot. X3 It was so much fun reading them all. You guys are the best!**

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Sonny's POV

"Hey, Bella, hand over the ketchup, please."

"Sure, Sonny." Bella handed me the ketchup bottle. I nodded to her in thanks, then squeezed the ketchup onto my french fries. We were in the cafeteria with the rest of the cast (Excluding Tawni. Apparently she wasn't hungry.), eating today's lunch: Tacos with a side of french fries. Normally we have taquitos on Tuesday, but I think Howie must've been lazy or something. Either way, it didn't really matter, so long as the food was good.

Bella glanced over at the table where the Mackenzie Falls cast were eating. She frowned. "Why do they have candelabras on their table?" she asked aloud.

I scoffed. "Because they think they're better than everyone else." I glared over at the other table. Chad caught my eye from where he was eating _pork roast_, of all things, and smirked. Pointing at me, he mouthed, 'Sucka'. I made a face at him, then looked away, irritated.

Bella looked at me, her eyes wide. "You ok, Sonny? You don't look very happy."

"I'm fine," I reassured her, then smiled. "You notice everything, don't you, detective Bella?" I teased.

She poked me. "Hey," she said, looking hurt. "Don't mock the great crime solver!"

I laughed. This morning, when I arrived at the studio, I'd walked into the prop house to find Bella dressed up as Sherlock Holmes. At least, I think that's who she was dressed up as, I'm not really sure. When I asked her why she was wearing that costume, she told me that she was trying to solve a very important case. She wasn't wearing the outfit anymore, of course, but I still couldn't resist teasing her about it. Thankfully, Bella has a great sense of humor. Unlike _some _people I could name. _Cough, Chad, cough._

"Yeah, ok, I won't mock the great crime solver," I said, still laughing. "But I do have to tell the great crime solver that after this we're going to rehearse our sketch."

Bella looked blank. "Sketch?"

From the other side of the table, Nico spoke up. "You know, the Romeo and Juliet sketch."

Bella and I both looked at him.

Nico held up his hands defensively. "Hey, just 'cause I ain't looking at you doesn't mean I'm not listening."

Beside him, Grady frowned. "So you were listening to them but not to me? And I just finished telling you about these awesome clown pants I found yesterday! Aw man, now I'm gonna have to start all over again!"

Bella decided to join in. "You should ashamed of yourself, Nico!" she scolded, frowning in mock severity.

Nico stared at all of us, bewildered. "Why're you ganging up on me?? I only said one thing!"

"All of you, be quiet!" Zora snapped, glaring up at us. She'd been fiddling with a miniature catapult and hadn't said a word for the past thirty-six minutes, so we all jumped when she suddenly spoke. "I'm about to launch my taco at one of those actors from the Falls!"

"You said the _Falls_," Grady snorted.

Zora ignored him. "To make sure it reaches its target, I have to concentrate entirely on this catapult. And I can't do that when all of you are yelling at each other!"

Everyone immediately shut up. We watched Zora place the taco on the catapult, fiddle with it some more, then pull the lever. Then we stared as the taco flew through the air and landed on the guy who plays Devon's head. (And I know that because I pay attention, not because I've seen him act on Mackenzie Falls! Because if I saw him act on Mackenzie Falls, that would mean I watch the show! And I don't! Pfft! Psh!)

Devon leapt up from his chair, and his hands flew immediately to his hair. He yelped in disgust. "Ewww, there's something in my hair, something in my hair, ahhh!!" He ran out of the cafeteria, still holding on to his head and the smushed taco.

At our table, everyone burst out laughing. I clutched my sides, guffawing. "Did you see his face?"

Bella cackled next to me. "He screamed like a girl!"

We all laughed until tears were practically streaming down our faces. Finally, I wiped my eyes and grinned over at the Mackenzie Falls table. Chad didn't look so smug anymore. He was just glaring at us. Ha. Who's the sucka now, Cooper?

Once everyone else had stopped giggling, I turned back to Bella. "Seriously, though, we're going to rehearse our sketch after this. Like Nico said, it's a Romeo and Juliet sketch. You'll be Juliet and Nico will be Romeo!"

Nico winked at Bella in what he must have thought was a suave way. "Yeah, and we're gonna have to kiss!"

Bella looked mortified. "Wha - ? Romeo? Kiss?? I never heard about this!"

"That rhymed," Grady pointed out gleefully. The rest of us ignored him.

"Of course you did. I told you about it yesterday," I replied.

Bella scrunched up her face in thought, then understanding dawned on her face. "Yeah, I don't think I was listening to you then, Sonny."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, now you know."

"But, um..." Bella leaned closer to me. "Do I really have to kiss Nico?" she whispered. "I mean, he's awesome and all but I don't really..." She trailed off.

I gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "It'll only be a peck, don't worry."

Bella didn't look very convinced. "Yeah..."

Turning, I dug in my purse and pulled out a slightly crumpled-up script. Smoothing it out, I handed it to Bella. "Here's the script for the sketch. It's going to be so much fun!" I said enthusiastically.

Bella looked down at the script, then back up at me and smiled. "I'm sure it will be." She didn't look too sure, actually, but I pretended not to see it.

"We better go, then. Marshall's probably waiting," Nico informed us.

Bella and I nodded, then stood up. "Come on, Zora..." My voice trailed off when I realized that Zora was no longer sitting at the table. Gosh, that girl is really good at disappearing into thin air.

As we walked towards the hallway, Chad stuck out his foot in front of my path. I nearly tripped, but caught myself just in time. Then I narrowed my eyes at him. He looked back at me innocently. "Is something wrong, Sonny?" The smirk came back on his face. "I knew you were falling for me, but I didn't think you were going to actually _fall_." He laughed. As if on cue, the other Mackenzie Falls people laughed with him.

I ground my teeth together. Stupid, dumb jerkthrob... Without another word, I swept by him, glowering. Normally I would stand there and reply back with something witty, but I didn't have time for that. Rehearsing was way more important than arguing with Chad.

I was so involved in my thoughts that I didn't see the look exchanged between Bella and Portlyn as we left.

Bella's POV

Well. We just finished rehearsing.

...

Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to _die!_

Don't get me wrong. I love the sketch. Sonny is really talented at writing these things. It's hilarious, and I nearly choked on my own saliva when I read one of the lines in there. (Ew, that sentence sounds weirdly gross if you say it out loud...) But kissing? _Nico??_ I don't want to kiss anyone, let alone Nico!

If I have to kiss something, why can't I just kiss a snake? Because I'm pretty sure kissing a snake would be better than kissing Nico. Ew. Thinking about it makes me shudder.

It's not that I have anything against Nico. Really. It's just that he's a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. And that's the way it's always gonna be. And I'd rather not have my first kiss be with a friend.

At least Marshall didn't make us rehearse _that _part of the sketch...

Urgh. Well, I guess that's why they call it acting. If I want to make it in the business, I've got to learn to deal with these things.

Yup. Now, just stop thinking about it, Bella...

...Dang it, I'm still thinking about it. Ok, I have to find some sort of distraction. Ooh! I know! I can try to find more ways of getting Sonny and Chad together! Unfortunately, I'm, like, fresh out of ideas.

I guess there's only one thing that can help me now.

THE INTERNET!! (Cue the dramatic music, please.)

I left the prop house, where I'd been sitting reading a really new issue of _Tween Weekly _that just came in (They mentioned me in there! ME! In _Tween Weekly!!_) and scampered over to my room. I dragged a chair over to the computer table, sat down, and switched on the moniter. The computer screen immediately lit up.

I clicked on the Windows Explorer icon thing. Once it came up, I thought for a second about what website to go to. Finally, I typed in 'Google'.

As I waited for the page to upload, I started thinking about Google. You know, it just occured to me, but that's a really weird word. I mean, Google? Why'd they call it Google? They could've just called it Googly. That sounds cool. Google just sounds plain funny. What does it even mean?

I realized that the page had come up and immediately stopped thinking about it. Really, what's the point? I typed in the keywords 'Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper', then clicked the Search button. Almost instantly, a whole bunch of choices popped up on the screen. I stared. Woah. A lot of people besides me must have noticed the chemistry between Sonny and Chad too, because there were a freakin' lot of Channy fansites up there.

Too many, actually. Which one would I start with?

I decided to do Eenie-Meenie-Miny-Mo to help me pick. (That always solves everything.) Then I clicked on one of the websites.

I wasn't really lucky at first. One site only had pictures, and another one was about cars. (That confused me. What do cars have to do with Channy?)

I ended up going to a Channy blog site. I scrolled down and looked through all the posts people had put on there. I hoped at least one of them might be useful. But reading the posts made my hope evaporate.

Seriously, some of the posts on here were so stupid. Look at this.

_PieLover2763 _said: _PIE IS AWESOME. WE MUST ALL WORSHIP THE PIE._

_OMGiPwnAll _said: _Sonny's the awesomest actress in the history of awesomest actresses, but Chad SUCKS. He isn't worthy of Sonny! Go fall over a cliff, Cooper!_

_cHaDdYlAnCoOpEr4EvEr _said: _I love Chad. And he loves me too. I know he does. When we get married and I have thirteen of his kids, I'm naming them all Chad Junior._

_HotGuysRHot _said: _Zac Efron is so friggin' SEXY. _

...Ok, first of all, who cares about the pie?? Second, if you don't like Channy, then why are you on a Channy website?? Third, um, that's kinda creepy...

And finally, what the heck does Zac Efron have to do with Sonny and Chad???

I wasn't ready to give up yet, though at the same time I was afraid of the other posts I'd find on this blog. I scrolled down a bit more and found another post.

_MackenzieFallsFan196 _said: _Chad Dylan Cooper is so cool! If I ever meet him, I'm totally going to invite him to dinner!_

After reading that, I was just about ready to close the window. But before I could do that, I stopped myself. Maybe that Mackenzie Falls fan person had a point...

Dinner, huh?

I grinned as a new plan started to form in my mind. This hadn't been a waste of time after all! In fact, I was sure that my plan would work.

Now, I just had to speak to Marshall about it and then somehow talk to Chad...

* * *

**Ooh, what's Bella gonna do? I'm sure you guys have a clue. :3 Oh, hey, that rhymed! Cool! ^^ Well, if you want to guess at what's gonna happen next, feel free to do so in your reviews. See ya, suckas!**


	15. Dinner in the Prop House

Chad's POV

"Ow!" I yelped, glaring at Portlyn, who'd just slapped my arm. Again. "Stop hitting me! What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?? What's wrong with you!?" she hissed.

I just gave her a blank stare. "Um, come again?"

She rolled her eyes. "Chad, you are so stupid."

"Look who's talking," I muttered.

She glowered at me, and I raised my hands in defense, hoping she wasn't going to hurt me. She went on, still glaring. "You tripped Sonny in the cafeteria earlier! Why in the world did you do that?" She went on to blabber some more, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking about that moment in the cafeteria.

Honestly, I'm not really sure why I did it. It was probably because they threw a taco on my co-star's head. Then again, I don't really like the guy much, so that's probably not the reason...

Hmm... it could also be because I ran into that Blake guy again when I arrived at the studio. He talked to me like we were buddies. He even punched my shoulder. You know, the way guy friends usually do. Well, I did _not _appreciate that. We're not friends at _all_.

He's so annoying. I hate him.

What does Sonny see in that idiot, anyway?

I folded my arms across my chest and huffed, interrupting Portlyn's rant. "I don't know. Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't have to have reasons for doing stuff, you know. He can do whatever he pleases," I informed her. Then I narrowed my eyes. "Seriously, why do you even care? I thought you hated the Randoms."

"I do," Portlyn said quickly. "But it's just, like... rude, you know? Because she could've broken her... head," she finished lamely.

I almost snorted. Maybe Portlyn suddenly became a bit smarter, but she was still dumb. And a bad liar. "Yeah. Right."

I think Portlyn might've gone on to say something else if that new Random hadn't come barging onto our set. "Hey, Chad!" she called cheerfully.

I frowned over at her. "What're you doing here? You're not supposed to be on our set."

Bella smiled sweetly. "You're not rehearsing. There's no reason for me not to come in. Also, my picture wasn't on the Banned wall." She laughed gleefully. "But Blake's is." She grinned at me.

Huh. She seemed to find that funny, for some reason. Wonder why? Maybe she hates him, too. Don't see why she would, though.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well, I wanted to invite you to my dinner party!" she said, beaming proudly. "It's like a little thank you to all the people who've welcome me here at the studio!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait, hold up. When did I ever welcome you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"You came over to me and said hello. Don't you remember, Chad?"

No, I didn't remember.

She poked me. "Heh. I bet you have short-term memory loss!"

"Do not," I scoffed, lightly pushing her away. "So what makes you think that I'll actually come to this... dinner thing of yours?"

"You're the guest of honor," Bella said matter-of-factly.

"I am?" I asked, slightly surprised. Not too shocked, though. I mean, who wouldn't make me their guest of honor? "Why?"

"Because you're, like, Chad Dylan Cooper, that's why!" she gushed, smiling. Then she shook her head. "Of course, Sonny and the others already know about you being the guest of honor, and they don't really like it, so..." She patted my shoulder. "...if you come, I wouldn't mention it at all to them, if I were you."

I thought about that for a second. The Randoms didn't like the fact that I was the most important guest at their little dinner... cool. If it made them unhappy, I would totally go. "Sure, I'll come."

Her grin widened, and she rubbed her hands together. "Great! Come to the Prop House at seven o' clock, 'kay?"

I nodded. Behind me, Portlyn, who'd been so quiet that I'd completely forgotten she was there, stepped forward. "Hey, can I come? I welcomed you."

I whipped my head around to look at Portlyn. "You welcomed her? I don't remember you guys ever meeting."

Bella's eyes widened in what looked like alarm, but then I blinked and she had returned to looking calm. (Well, calm for her, anyway.) She guffawed. "Haha, Chad, she totally said hello to me when I walked in here! Don't you remember?"

Portlyn looked a bit confused, then she joined in, laughing also. "Yeah, Chad! Wow, you really do have short-term memory loss!"

I was starting to feel confused. I was pretty sure they hadn't said a word to each other in the past few minutes. What was going on?

Bella grabbed Portlyn's hand and tugged on it. "Come on, I'll talk to you outside..." she muttered, so low that I wasn't sure she'd even said anything. Then she beamed over her shoulder at me and waved, saying, "See you in the Prop House, Chad!" Then she dragged Portlyn into the hallway and out of my view.

I just kinda stared for a few seconds. That was really, really weird. I felt like something was going on that I didn't know about. But I pushed the idea away. It probably didn't involve me, so whatever. If it has nothing to do with CDC, I don't care.

Portlyn returned after a few minutes and told me, "I'm going to the dinner thing, too." She was smiling, looking pleased. Again, really weird.

"Uh huh. Yeah. That's great, Portlyn."

She frowned at me and opened her mouth, but just then our director walked in. "I'm back from my coffee break!" he announced. Then he looked around at me and the rest of the cast, and his eyes narrowed. "What're you all standing around for? We've got to start filming! Places, everyone, and show me some real DRAMA!!"

Bella's POV

I walked away from the Mackenzie Falls set, heading towards the Prop House. I was grinning proudly. I managed to get Chad to accept my invite. Oh, yeah. I totally rock.

I guess I... kinda lied, though. He's not the guest of honor. There is no guest of honor. (If there was one, it would most likely be Sonny, not Chad.) And the others don't even know about my dinner party yet. I'm going to surprise them.

I know, you'd think that they would've figured it out by now, since they go to the Prop House, like, all the time. But after I talked to Marshall about my idea, and he said yes to it, I'd made sure that the others couldn't get in the Prop House while I set everything up. Sonny just accepted that she couldn't go in there for now, Tawni didn't care, and Zora seemed to know what I was doing. (That kid knows everything.)

Although I had to tell Nico and Grady that there'd been a chemical spill in there so that they wouldn't go in. I don't know if it's possible for that to happen, but they believed it, so I guess that's all that matters.

Anyway, now that I'd invited Chad and told Portlyn about my plan (She was gonna help me. Thank goodness. Although Zora's been a big help, I don't want her to find out what I'm _really _trying to do.), I had to continue setting up everything.

Thankfully, the food was taken care of already. See, since I didn't know any food stores in California, I asked Marshall for some advice on what I should do.

He said he didn't have any idea, since his mother forbids him from having parties at his house. (Which is kinda weird, now that I think about it...) Though he did tell me that I could get some pizza or something. I was gonna go order some, but he said that he'd do it for me. Apparently, since my stay here was free and all, I shouldn't go spending my money on that kind of stuff.

I am extremely grateful to Marshall right now. Because I did not bring much money with me when I came here. And a lot of that money was spent on clothes that I bought when I went shopping with Sonny. (I'm seriously regretting buying those clothes now... eh. Whatever.)

So, yeah.

Okee dokie, I was at the Prop House. I rubbed my hands together. Time to get back to work...

Sonny's POV

"Come on, Tawni, let's go," I said, tugging on Tawni's arm. She didn't budge an inch from the couch in the dressing room. Instead, she scowled. "Sonny, I don't really care what Bella wants us to do. I'm trying to admire my reflection, and that's more important than some little surprise she's got for us!" She huffed.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, Tawni. Stay here. But..." I added, "...if you don't come then you probably won't get a free mirror..."

Tawni's eyes widened, and she jumped up. "Free mirror? Where??"

I smiled craftily. "Didn't you hear? Bella's going to give them out to whoever comes to her surprise... thing."

Tawni was already walking towards the door. "Let's go," she said, whisking out of the dressing room. I shook my head, grinned, and followed after her.

Bella met us by the prop house entrance. She smiled at me. "Hi, Sonny!" She turned her gaze over to Tawni and frowned slightly. "Hey, Tawni," she said with less enthusiasm.

Tawni responded and saying bluntly, "Where's my free mirror?"

Bella's face became perfectly blank. "What mirror?"

"The one you were going to..." Tawni's voice trailed off, and she turned to glare at me. "Liar. I'm leaving."

I grabbed her arm before she could stomp off. "No, come on, Tawni, you have to stay here. You never know, you might get something out of it."

Tawni grumbled but reluctantly stayed by my side.

Zora arrived after a while, dressed as wild as ever, and soon Grady and Nico came, too. Bella looked around at all of us and grinned excitedly. "You guys are gonna love this!" she declared. "This is my way of thanking you for making me feel welcome here!" With that, she moved over to let us go into the Prop House. We entered and gaped at the scene before us.

The couch had been moved. It was now in the corner, surrounded by other props. Actually, pretty much all the props that used to be in the middle of the room had been moved. In their place was a large table, covered by a white tablecloth. Plates were stacked near the edge of the table, along with napkins, spoons, and all that stuff. There was even a lighted candelabra on the table, which confused me at first because I was pretty sure we didn't have a candelabra in the Prop House yet. Then I realized that it looked very similar to the Mackenzie Falls candelabras, and I smiled.

Grady broke the silence and said, "What happened to the chemical spill?" He sounded a bit disappointed.

"It went away," Bella informed him. Then she looked around at all of us and beamed, saying, "I'm hosting a dinner party for you guys! I mean, you all totally deserve it, you've been really nice to me." She gazed at us expectantly.

I went up to her and hugged her. "Awhh, Bella, you're so sweet! You didn't have to do this, you know."

She nodded fiercely. "Yes, I did." She gave me a secret smile. "You have no idea," she laughed.

I felt like I was missing something.

But I completely forgot about that when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to see Tawni or one of the others, but instead I saw Blake. I stared.

He grinned at me. "Hey, Sonny!"

By me, Bella had stiffened. "What're you doing here?"

Grady came up beside us and gawked at Blake. "Hey, I know you! You gave me your pickles when they ran out of them in the cafeteria yesterday! What up, man?" He gave Blake a high five.

Blake laughed. "Hey, dude."

Bella folded her arms. "You didn't answer my question," she said sourly.

"Well, I just stopped by to ask Sonny something." He gave me a small, nervous smile. I tilted my head questioningly, not sure what he was talking about. Next to me, Bella froze, and her eyes widened.

He cleared his throat. "I - I just wanted to know... will you g - ?"

He hadn't even finished his question before Bella was pushing him out of the room, saying angrily, "Look, you weren't invited here, and you're not going to mess things up again!"

I saw Blake's surprised look before he and Bella disappeared from our view. We all just stared at the hallway, stunned, until Bella returned, looking grim.

"Bella!" I yelled, shocked. "Why'd you do that? He just wanted to ask a question!"

"Yeah, well, he can do it later," she muttered defensively.

I frowned. There was something going on that I didn't know about. I could sense it. But what?

Tawni peered eagerly down the hallway, apparently looking for Blake. "Ooh, who was that?"

"Blake Warner," I told her. "He works on one of the shows here."

"He was cute!" Tawni gushed. "I wonder if he's single??"

Bella, who'd gone silent after Tawni spoke, now snapped, "He's taken!"

I was taken aback. So was Tawni. She raised her eyebrow. "Really? By who?"

Bella blinked, as though even she was surprised by her own outburst. "Um... by some other... girl..." she said uncertainly.

Tawni narrowed her eyes in thought, but before she could say anything, Bella swept passed her and gestured towards the table, smiling as though the exchange had never taken place. "Well, everyone take your seats! I'll give you your food after a bit."

Grady sat down on a seat, and Bella's eyes widened. "Oh, Grady, that's not your seat, it's Zora's."

Grady looked confused. "What's the difference?"

"Well, I kinda arranged the seats so that everyone sits in a specific spot," she explained. "See, I put nametags." She motioned for Grady to stand, then pointed at the back of the chair, where a nametag was taped with the word 'Zora' written on it in bold print.

Grady's shrugged. "Oh, ok."

We all found our seats. Nico and Grady sat next to each other, and Tawni sat between me and Bella, which she didn't seem too happy about. As Bella chatted aimlessly to Nico and Grady, I looked over at the empty seat on my left and gasped when I saw the nametag that was there. Bella glanced over at me. "Anything wrong?"

"Why is Chad Dylan Cooper coming to this party?" I demanded, pointing at the nametag. "And more importantly, why does he have to sit by me??" I didn't want to be _anywhere_ near Chad. Not after what happened yesterday. I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Because he was nice to me, too," Bella said calmly. "Now, I know you guys don't like him, but he's really cool once you get to know him."

I frowned, and I could've sworn that a spark of jealousy went through me. But no, it couldn't be that... had to be something else. "You've gotten to know him?" I asked in a casual voice.

Bella apparently saw right through my casual voice and gave me a smug smile. "Not in the way you think I have," she giggled. "But seriously, don't argue with him, guys. I want this dinner to be fun." She smiled yet again, then added, "Now, we'll just wait for him to come with Portlyn and then we can get started!"

I was about to ask why Portlyn was coming, but then, right on cue, Chad strolled into the Prop House, with Portlyn right after him. He smirked at us and said conceitedly, "Hello, Randoms. I bet you're glad that good ol' CDC is here to brighten up your day!"

Bella greeted Chad and Portlyn cheerfully. I groaned and placed my head in my head in my hands as Chad swaggered over to sit by me. This was not going to be as fun as I'd thought.

* * *

**This was going to be longer... but I wanted to leave you guys in suspense. 030 So now you know half of Bella's diabolical plot. I think you guys will like the rest of her plan...**

**Review please! ^^**


	16. Pizza with a side of romance

****

...You know, I really need to stop telling you that I'm going to write soon, and end up not updating for, like, over two months.

**So I'm really sorry about that, guys, but I've been busy with school and with my artwork, and I'm trying out to join this singing class, and I've been really overworked lately. Not to mention that I've had writers block. So that's a lot of good excuses, if I do say so myself. ^^ Luckily, it's almost summertime (YES!), so I'll have loads more time to do this.**

**But I've updated now, so I hope you guys'll forgive me for the long wait. :3 Because of the writer's block, though, I had trouble figuring out how to write this chapter, since I completely forgot what was going to happen, but I did it the best I can. It's not the best... but I promise you, I'll try and get with the game next chapter.**

**By the way, who else has been watching Season 2? I love it! My favorite was the Legend of Candy Face. Oh, and during Gassie Passes, do you know how shocked I was when they said that Gassie's trainer was named Bella? I choked on the ice cream I was eating at the time. That Bella was nothing like the Bella here, though she was hilarious. xD**

**A little note: Nothing from Season 2 has happened in this story, only the episodes from Season 1. Though random details from the second season will pop up here, though.**

**Ok, that's pretty much it. You are now free to go ahead and read the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sonny's POV

After Chad had taken his seat by me (ugh) and Portlyn had sat down next to Bella, Bella hopped up and handed out plates, gushing, "So at first I wasn't sure if I should give you guys a fancy dinner, but then I decided not to, because that would be way too much work, so I just got some pizza, because everyone loves pizza, so that's ok with you guys, righ - ?"

"Pizza?" Grady cut her off, his eyes widening in delight. "Heck yeah, that's ok with us! We love pizza!" He shook Nico's shoulder excitedly. "Did you hear that? We're getting pizza!"

I laughed at how delighted the two looked. I glanced at Chad and saw him rolling his eyes. "Wow, only you would be excited about pizza, Gravy," he said in his usual annoying tone of voice.

I glared at him, ready to smack him, but Portlyn (who had wandered over behind his chair) beat me to it. "Ow!" Chad hissed, turning to give Portlyn the evil eye. She smiled prettily at him. "Sorry, Chad, I thought there was a mosquito on your head. Turns out there wasn't."

"And it's _Grady_, not Gravy," Nico added.

"Whatever, Hippo." Chad raised his hands above his head defensively right after he said that. I snorted. He looked so stupid in that position. Behind him, Portlyn just sighed, studied her nails for a second, then walked back over to her seat. I was a bit confused as to why she'd smacked Chad, since she's his cast member and all (and I was positive I hadn't heard a mosquito anywhere nearby), but hey, who cares? She slapped him and that's pretty much all that mattered to me.

A pizza landed on the plate in front of me. I glanced over the back of my chair to see Bella, hastily scooping pizza out of the pizza box and handing it out. "Guys, no fighting at the table," she said reprovingly to us. "This is a supposed to be a nice, friendly dinner."

I shook my head sadly. Bella was probably attempting to make peace between both of our casts. It was nice of her to try, but I doubted she'd get anywhere with that. I'd done the same thing when I'd first arrived here, and it hadn't ended out too well...

"If anyone starts fighting again, I'm going to stab them with this spork," Bella added seriously, holding up a spork as if to prove her point. "It may not look like it hurts, but it does."

Huh. Really? I tried to stab myself with a spork before and it broke. I didn't even feel any pain.

Maybe it was a faulty spork...

Bella clapped her hands together and took her spot next to Tawni and Portlyn. "All right, guys, dig in!"

While I bit into my food, Chad picked up his pizza and studied it. "Normally I don't eat this type of food," he announced, as though he thought we all cared about what he said. Which we didn't. "I usually eat steak. Or rack of lamb." He glanced at Bella. "Don't you have any loganberry smoothies?"

"Any loganwhat?" Bella repeated, looking blank.

I slapped Chad lightly on the shoulder. "Just shut up and be grateful you got invited to this, Cooper."

"Ow!" Chad rubbed his shoulder and frowned at me. "Jeez, what is this, Slap CDC Day!" Then he smirked. "Besides, of course I got invited to this. I'm the guest of - "

"Hey, Sonny, what's your favorite fruit?" Bella interrupted, shooting a quick glance at Chad as she did so.

"Um... I like apples. I guess." I peered at her. "Why...?"

"Oh, I was thinking about making you a smoothie later," Bella said casually, sipping from her root beer can.

Chad, who had proceeded to looking ticked off because of Bella interrupting him, said in a shocked voice, "You'll make her a smoothie but you won't make _me _one!"

"SILENCE, Pooper!" Zora yelled from across the table, waving her slice of pizza around in the air. "I can't concentrate!"

"On what, your food? What, do you think if you don't focus on it its going to run away from you or something?"

I saw Tawni, who'd been sitting moodily next to me, suddenly sit up straighter, her eyes lighting up. Then she rearranged her expression so that she looked depressed. "Oh, I just got a text from my mom," she announced, which made us all shut up and look at her. Tawni peered down at her cell phone and continued, "She says I have to go home right now. I'm so, _so_, sorry I can't stay," she added, turning to Bella with a mournful expression on her face.

I leaned over towards her and raised an eyebrow. "Tawni, your cell phone isn't on."

She shot me a meaningful glare, then sighed, continuing on with her sad act. "As much as I would like to stay, I can't. You'll just have to carry on without me."

"Oh, it's all right, Tawni," Bella said, giving Tawni an understanding smile. "If your mom needs you, then I'm not gonna keep you here any longer." Her smile widened, and her gaze flickered from me to Chad.

Seriously? Chad and I wasn't even part of this conversation. Did this have to do with us somehow?

No, I didn't think so.

Tawni stood up, grabbed her purse off the back of her chair, and hurried to the door. Pausing, she turned and waved. "Goodbye," she said softly, before a brief grin lighted up her face and she rushed away.

There was silence, with the exception of Portlyn's sniggering. Bella elbowed her, then smiled and said, "Well, that's ok. If she really needed to go, then I don't mind. Now, lemme just move this out of the way..." She hopped up and dragged Tawni's chair to the other side of the room, then scooched her own chair over closer to mine. Plopping down, she gave me a wide smile, identical to the kind of smile I almost always have on my face. "And now it really begins!" she whisper-yelled dramatically.

For some reason, I didn't think she was talking about the food...

Which was a stupid thought. Of course she was talking about the food. Duh, Sonny.

Nothing happened the first few minutes after that. Grady and Nico started to play with their pizza, pretending they were airplanes or monster trucks or something before eating them, Zora was suspiciously poking her own slice with the spork Bella had "threatened" us with awhile ago, Chad complained about the quality of the table or whatever else he thought wasn't as fancy as Mackenzie Falls stuff, and Bella just ate her food quietly, which was odd, since I expected her to be chattering up a storm.

Like the way I usually chatter up a storm, except no one was paying attention to me when I tried to talk to them at the moment.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Zora's head snapped up, and she hopped to her feet, her face taking on a wild expression. "I almost forgot, I have to fix the vents! They've been making weird noises again. Sorry, can't stay, gotta go!" She dropped her half-eaten pizza on her plate and was out of the room before anyone could even say "bye".

Quiet settled over us again until Grady whispered, "You think she's gonna finish that pizza?"

Nico gave Grady an incredulous look. "You've already eaten four slices, G!"

"I know, but it's so _good!_" Grady whined, staring longingly at Zora's leftovers.

"You do know if you keep eating so much that one day you'll get so fat that you'll explode?" Chad asked, a smirk lifting up the corners of his mouth.

The same mouth that nearly kissed me...

Life can be so unfair sometimes.

.....Ew, why'd I even think that! Jeez, Sonny, get a hold of yourself...

Grady gasped, falling for it. "But I'm too young to explode!"

"He's just playing with you, Grady," I sighed in exasperation, giving Chad a disapproving glare. "You're not gonna explode."

Chad met my gaze, his sparkly eye twinkling brighter than ever. I swear, I nearly melted then, but managed to continue glaring. "Really, Sonny? Really?"

"Oh, come on, are you guys seriously going to do this again?" Portlyn groaned.

I was a bit relieved when Zora came rushing into the room again. She rested her elbow against the wall and panted for a moment before looking at Nico and Grady. "Murphy found out."

Nico and Grady immediately stood up, their eyes wide with fear. "He found out?" Grady squeaked.

"Found out what?" Bella spoke up, a note of curiousity in her voice.

"Well, we've, uh, been hiding some of his things from him," Nico gulped. "To get back at him for something he did to us."

"We didn't think he'd realize it was us!" Grady wailed, grabbing Nico's shirt sleeve and blowing his nose into it. Nico jumped away and gazed at him in disbelief. "Dude!"

Zora rolled her eyes and tapped a finger to her wrist. "Did I mention he's coming here to find you guys?"

Grady started to hyperventilate. Nico grabbed his arm and began to drag him out of the prop house. "Sorry, everyone, but we have to go, Murphy'll kill us if he gets to us! Just... pretend we were never here." He paused to wink in Bella's direction. "I'll catch you later." He rushed out of the room with Grady, and a few seconds later we heard their screams as they ran off.

Zora rolled her eyes again. "Idiots," she muttered before saying, "I'm going back to work on the vents now. See ya." She waved before disappearing down the hallway.

"Wowww," Chad said after they'd all gone. "That was just weird."

I ignored him and looked around the table. It looked really empty now with the others gone. I blinked. "We're the only ones here..." I mumbled to myself.

As I said this, Portlyn had ducked under the table and was groping around for something. Bella looked down. "What'cha doin'?"

"I'm looking for my purse. I can't find it." Portlyn's head popped out from under the tablecloth. The way she said that sentence and the expression on her face made me snort with laughter. She was acting as though she'd just lost the most important thing in the world.

And for her, it probably was the most important thing in the world.

Portlyn got to her feet and brushed off her skirt. "I'm gonna have to go back to the Falls set and try to find it. Anyone want to come with me?" She looked around at us.

"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!" Bella gasped childishly, waving her hand wildly in the air. Portlyn gave her a curt nod. "Sure, let's go."

Bella started to get up, but I poked her shoulder. "What are you doing?" I whispered. "You can't just leave, this is your dinner! And you're the host!"

"Well, yeah, but I'm trying to be helpful," she whispered back. "Look, I won't be gone long. Until we come back, you can just chat with Chad."

My mouth dropped open. Chat with Chad! Was she actually saying that? Had she even been listening to me when I'd explained to her two days ago about how much I loathed the guy? And now she expected me to _chat _with him?

Yeah, apparently she did.

"It won't take long, really!" Bella assured me, backing out of the room slowly. Portlyn was already standing in the hallway, her arms folded and her foot tapping impatiently. "Ok, bye!" Bella joined Portlyn and then they were gone.

And I was alone with Chad Dylan Cooper. Again.

Except this time we weren't in a locked closet, thank goodness.

As if he'd read my mind, Chad said, "We're alone again."

I gave the best dagger glare I could I scooted my chair over. "Shut up."

Chad, pretending to be upset, put a hand over his heart and pouted. "Now, Sonny, that's not very nice."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Uh, huh." Then I looked down at my empty plate. "I guess the party's over. You don't have to stay any more, you know. You are free to return to your loganberry smoothies."

Chad tapped his chin for a second, then shrugged. "Nah, I'm good. I mean, if I go now, I'll miss the chance of annoying you out of your mind."

I shook my head. Typical. Then I smiled. "I should slap you for that, but I won't," I said perkily, getting up and going over to the fridge. I could feel Chad's eyes on me as I pulled out a bottled water, and I felt really self-concious. Sitting back down, I uncapped the bottle and took a sip.

"So what's new?" Chad asked randomly. I turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Really, Chad?"

"What? It's not a crime if I ask what you've been doing lately, is it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Aside from being locked in a closet with you, nothing much."

He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "Yeah, that was fun, huh?"

I choked on my water. "F-Fun?" I spluttered, laughter rising up my throat. It was impossible for me to hold it back, I burst into a fit of giggles, guffaws, and snorts. Chad watched me, looking amused. "You done?" he asked after giving me some time to laugh my head off.

I wiped a few tears from my eyes. "Yup. And how in the world would I think that was _fun?_"

"Well, you were alone with Chad Dylan Cooper in a closet, something any normal girl would give anything for. It should've been fun." He popped his collar for extra emphasis.

"Yeah, well obviously I'm not a normal girl," I retorted.

Chad's brow furrowed. "Nope, not at all."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"_Good!_"

I don't think either of us realized how close our heads had gotten (reflecting back on it, I can't even remember how that happened), and I was once again noticing what a deep, deep blue his eyes were.

We probably could've gone on fighting for a long time.

If heavy metal rock music hadn't started to play at that exact moment.

Bella's POV

"Portlyn! What the heck?" I yelled, clamping my hands over my ears as loud rock music blared out of the boombox. We were inside the vents, kneeling down in an awkward position (this area wasn't as roomy as the vents I'd been in yesterday), and we'd both practically jumped out of our skins when the unexpected music came on.

Yeah, I'm probably not making much sense. Lemme explain.

This was our plan: Get everyone except Sonny and Chad out of the prop house. Get a romantic music CD and play it in the sound system that Zora had hooked up inside the vents (dunno how she did that, and I don't really care). Sonny and Chad stare into each others eyes, realize their true feelings, and pledge their eternal love for each other.

Unfortunately, Portlyn had gotten the wrong CD from her dressing room.

"You were supposed to get the romantic music CD!" I didn't even bother to whisper. There was no way Chad and Sonny could hear us.

"I know!" Portlyn yelled back, her eyes wide. "I must've grabbed the wrong thing! But I brought some other CDs with me, too, just in ca - !"

"Then what are you waiting for? Find it!"

Portlyn grabbed her purse (which she actually had left on the Falls set) and groped around inside. Pulling out some CD cases, she went through them. "Uh... oh, here it is, I found it!" She quickly pulled out the disk, pressed the _stop _button on the boombox, then switched the CDs and jabbed _play_.

There was a pause before soft, sweet music began to play.

I sighed and let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "That was close. Do you think they noticed?" I whispered.

Portlyn, obviously over her panic, turned to give me a narrowed look, as though this was all my fault. "If they didn't notice, then pigs will really start to fly."

Chad's POV

I had a nightmare once. Yes, Chad Dylan Cooper had nightmares, too. It's shocking, but true. And in my nightmare, I was sitting in Sonny's dressing room, rock music randomly came on, and I died.

I know, it's just weird.

But really scary.

AND IT WAS COMING TRUE.

Sure, I wasn't in Sonny's dressing room, but it didn't matter, because _I WAS GOING TO DIE._

I freaked out and clutched the nearest thing next to me. Which just happened to be Ms. Sunshine.

Surprisingly, she grabbed ahold of me, too, and we both hugged each other, screaming.

And then, oddly enough, the music stopped. Moments later, soft music that you usually hear in romantic movies started to play.

Sonny and I had stopped screaming and were now staring blankly at each other, until we finally realized that our arms were still around each other. We jerked away from each other at the same time. Sonny was blushing furiously, her hands folded in her lap. "Um, I think... I think Zora must still be working on the vents..." she mumbled.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah..." Although I didn't know how playing heavy metal could help someone to fix vents, it didn't really matter to me right now, since I felt really embarassed. From the look on Sonny's face, she did too.

Wow, she looks so cute when she's embarassed.

Darn her cuteness.

"You know, maybe I should just go," I started to say at the exact moment that Sonny squeaked, "I think I'm gonna go find Bella."

Awkward silence.

Then Sonny smiled a bit. "I don't really know what happened just now... but I'm sorry it freaked you out." She laughed. "You scream like a girl."

I frowned. "You scream like a girl, too," I countered back. Ooh, _burn_, Munroe!

"That's because I am a girl, Chad."

"Oh, yeah." Never mind.

She crinkled her nose a bit, holding back another laugh. "Well, if that's all you wanted to say..."

I blinked. It was like her mind hadn't registered the fact that there was romantic music playing in the background. Mine definitely had. And a voice inside my head was shrieking at me, _KISS HER!_

But the voice in my head is stupid. There was no way I was going to listen to it.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go now," I said, shrugging nonchalantly before turning on my heel and heading towards the door. I was about to walk down the hallway when Sonny said behind, "Oh, Chad, wait!"

I looked back. "Yes?"

She looked up at me with her wide, chocolate brown eyes. "You did like the party, right?"

"Eh. It was ok."

She punched my shoulder. Not hard enough to hurt, but I pretended it did anyway. "Ow! Jeez, Munroe, what's wrong with you?"

"You should show a little more appreciation. Bella worked really hard on this," she said reprovingly.

I raised my eyes towards the ceiling. "Sure she did." When Sonny looked like she was about to punch me again, I held my hands up defensively and backed away. "All right, all right, it was fun, I guess."

A full blown grin lit up her face. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I just stood there, shocked. My brain hadn't yet absorbed the fact that Sonny Munroe was willingly hugging me. "What're you doing?" I finally asked.

She promptly let go and stepped back. "Sorry, I'm a hugger," she apologized.

I wagged my finger at her. "I never told you to stop, did I?"

She snorted. "I think it's time for you to go, Chad," she told me pointedly.

"Good, because I was just going to go."

"Good, because I just asked you to go."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good."

"Awesome."

I stared at her. "What? That's not it, you were supposed to say 'good'!"

She giggled and didn't reply. Instead, she proceeded to turn off the light in the prop house and walked past me. She paused and turned around to face me, saying cheerfully, "Good night, Cooper!"

I actually smiled. "Good night, Munroe."

* * *

**I couldn't think of a better way to end this chapter.**

**I can't promise that the next chapter will come out soon, since I pretty much broke every promise I've given you guys, but I'll work on it. **

**Review please! (It might actually help me update faster... *wink wink*)**


	17. Waffles and paint wars

**Yesss, I updated!**

**I didn't know what I was going to write for this chapter. But I somehow magically got inspiration for this after watching the new episode, Sonny with a Secret. That episode was EPIC, by the way. **

**So here is the chapter that I finally managed to finish! I tried to make it long for you guys, since I haven't updated in a while. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SWAC. But I do own Bella, Blake, and Nicole. **

* * *

Bella's POV

It's official. I fail.

I swear, I was so disappointed when Sonny and Chad didn't kiss. Granted, they did hug twice, but still. If only Portlyn hadn't put in the heavy metal CD...

Gosh, those two were really starting to bug me! I mean, how many times does anyone come across two people _this _stubborn about their feelings towards each other?

...Oh, wait, that probably happens a lot.

But these two are way more stubborn than any other couple like that. I'm sure of it.

So, anyway, after that second failure, I dejectedly said goodbye to Portlyn and scrambled out of the vents. I bet you think I headed immediately to my room. HA. I'm not stupid. I'd told Sonny that I was going to help Portlyn look for her purse and would return back to the prop house as soon as she found it. If I was in my room, lounging on the bed and watching TV, instead of heading back to the prop house, Sonny would get suspicious.

And that could not happen.

So I took a short cut and sprinted back to the Mackenzie Falls studio. Once there, I stopped to catch my breath, then calmly started walking back the way I'd come. If Sonny found me here, she'd think I'd just come out of the Falls set and was returning back to Stage 3. She definitely wouldn't think that I'd been hiding out in the vents the whole time she and Chad had been alone in the prop house.

See? I'm always thinkin'. (Even though sometimes I'm thinking about stupid or random stuff, I'm still _always _thinking)

Sonny did eventually find me and demanded to know why I'd taken so long. I simply told her that Portlyn and I had spent a good twenty-five minutes trashing her dressing room looking for the purse until we realized that it wasn't even in her dressing room, it was by the chocolate fountain.

Thankfully, Sonny believed me. She left shortly afterwards and I went into my room, plopped down on the bed, and stared at the wall for five minutes. Or something around that time.

Then I realized I couldn't just stare at the wall for the rest of the night, so I got ready for bed and fell asleep a bit later.

Which brings us to Wednesday morning.

I woke up with a seriously bad case of bedhead and a rumbling stomach. I was also still slightly upset about the events that had happened the day before. I knew I'd get over it soon and go back to thinking of more ways to get Sonny and Chad together, but still.

I dragged myself out of bed, attempted to brush my hair, and plodded off down the hallway, not even bothering to change out of my pajamas. It wasn't like anyone would be there to see, since it was seven A.M.

And anyone who did see me walking around the studio in my pajamas and bunny slippers would just have to deal with it, because I didn't care!

I trudged into the cafeteria. Howie greeted me with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you wearing your pajamas?"

I mumbled something even I couldn't understand in response. I started to walk into the kitchen to make a sandwich, but he blocked my path. "Nope, today you're eating waffles."

I gave him a bleary-eyed stare, not comprehending him. "Waffles...?"

"Yeah, you know, the round food that tastes delicious with syrup, the one that's usually associated with Eggo."

"I know what I waffle is!" I snapped, then immediately felt guilty about snapping. Rubbing my forehead, I went on, "But why are you making them?"

"Because today's Waffle Wednesday," he said as though that explained everything.

I crinkled my nose. "Wait... so you're making waffles for lunch, too?"

"Yup."

I snorted. "What kind of wacko would eat waffles for lunch?" I laughed sarcastically, then stopped. "Oh, wait, I would." And a lot of other people, too...

Howie nodded sagely. "Yes. And out of the kindness of my heart, I'm allowing you to eat waffles for breakfast, too."

"Oh. Well, thanks, Howie."

"Don't mention it."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to - "

"No, seriously, don't mention it. At all." He turned away and then faced me again holding a plate with two waffles on it. He handed the plate to me and a bottle of syrup, then turned again. "Now go eat and leave me in peace."

I nodded and walked over to a table, my mouth drooling as I inhaled the scent of the waffles. I poured a bunch of syrup all over the waffles, then sliced through them with my fork and took a bite.

Lemme tell you: They were the best freakin' waffles EVER.

Then again, it was probably my stomach saying that.

I didn't savor the taste too much, since I ate very quickly, but whatever. It still tasted good either way. Even when my hunger was satisfied, there was still leftovers, so I ended up finishing them very slowly. I was starting to feel a lot better, now that my belly wasn't growling at me.

And then guess who decided to come in?

Yup. That's right. Blake the snake.

I didn't notice him at first. But then I heard a chuckle from beside me and turned my head to see him leaning against the wall, his green eyes flickering in amusement. I swear, I nearly spit out the piece of waffle I had in my mouth. You know how I said that he looked cute when I first met him? Well, he didn't look cute anymore. No.

He looked HOT.

With a capital H.

H-O-T.

I wasn't sure if it was the fact that his hair was wet, like he'd just taken a shower, or if the clothes he was wearing just made him look good. Whatever he'd done, it had totally worked for him.

...Well, you know what? It didn't matter how hot he looked. I still disliked him. _So there!_

My thoughts on his extreme hotness were interrupted when he tilted his head and asked, "Why are you in your pajamas?"

"Good morning to you, too," I said sarcastically, resuming my eating.

"You didn't answer my question." Gee, that wasn't obvious _at all_. (Note the sarcasm.)

"I'm in my pajamas because I want to be. Happy?"

He pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. "Delighted," he responded.

I ignored him for a while, eating my waffles with my whole body rigid, while he just sat back in his chair and looked relaxed. Finally, I glared at him. "Why are you here? Are you stalking me?" That was one of my theories about him now. He seemed to be everywhere I went... what other explanation was there?

Blake grinned as though I'd just said the funniest thing in the world. "Stalking you? Do I look like I'm a stalker?"

I was tempted to say that yes, he did indeed. But that would've been a downright lie, so instead I shook my head slowly, then asked, "Why do you always get here so early? It's, like, seven in the morning."

"I told you, I like to get here earlier than my castmates so that I can work on my lines," he explained calmly.

"_Suuuurrreeee._"

"And I also volunteered to paint a backdrop for the show every morning."

"Oh. I see." Why hadn't he mentioned that before? If he'd told me that, I wouldn't have thought he was a stalker. "So you come here early to do it?"

"I just said that."

I ignored him. "By yourself?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

You know, it is so hard to dislike a guy with all your heart and soul when:

1) The said guy looks flippin' hot with his wet hair and gorgeous green eyes

2) The said guy is so nice and easygoing that it's just hard to be mad at him

3) The said guy comes to work so early in the morning because he volunteered to paint some backdrop, and now I was feeling guilty because I had been planning on sitting on my butt and watching TV until Sonny and the others got here

Yep. Take it from me, it's very hard.

And because I'm way too nice, you know what I did just then? I'll tell you what I did.

I blurted out, "I'll help you, if you want."

Blake looked a bit taken aback. Maybe he was surprised I'd offered. I couldn't blame him. "What? No, you don't have to do that."

He'd just given me the perfect moment to say, 'Oh, ok, sure, whatever you say' but instead I go, "No, really, I want to help! You shouldn't be doing that all by yourself!"

My thoughts while I was saying all this: _Shut up mouth!_

"Besides, I'm not doing anything right now," I finished. I swear, there must've been this mini person that lived inside me who controlled what came in and out of my mouth, because I sure as heck had had no intention of saying that to him.

At least, I think I didn't...

No. No, I didn't.

"Huh. Well, ok, if you're sure..." He gave me a look with a raised eyebrow, then stood up. He nodded at my plate. "Looks like you're done eating."

I glared down at my empty plate, still berating myself. "Guess so." I was racking my brain for a way to tell him that I no longer had any desire to help him (not that I'd had any desire before), but nothing came to mind. Besides, if I took back what I'd said, he'd probably think I'm a snob for going against my word. Like the way the cheerleaders at my school are snobs. And I'm nothing like those stupid cheerleaders! (No offense against cheerleaders, 'cause I'm sure not all of you are that bad... the ones at my school are horrible, though)

Anyways, I'd gotten myself into this stupid mess, so I might as well just go through with it and help the poor guy. What was the harm? I could totally call a truce... for now. Then I could go back to hating him after we were done with this thing. Simple.

I picked up my paper plate and dumped it in the trash can, then turned to Blake with a smile. Yeah, for now, I'd put our differences aside and try to be... well, polite, I guess. "Right, I'm ready!"

Blake shook his head. "No, you're not."

My smile disappeared. "What're you talking about?"

He looked down at my bunny slippers pointedly. "You might want to change out of your pajamas first."

I flushed. He had a good point. "Ok. Um... I'll just meet you at Stage 5." In case you didn't know, Stage 5 is where they film Hoosier Girl.

I rushed over to my room and changed quickly, that way I wouldn't be tempted to back out of this, then I headed over to Stage 5, still wondering why I'd opened my big fat mouth in the first place.

Blake wasn't waiting for me in front of the doors that opened into the set, so I cautiously went inside. I blinked and looked around. I'd never been in here before. It was basically just like any other set I'd been to, though it looked oddly empty at the moment. I'm guessing because most of the cast and crew wasn't here yet.

I was thinking that maybe I _should_ just skip out on him and head back to the Prop House. But then I saw him standing over by this half-painted backdrop of a field or something, waving at me with a paintbrush in his hand. I sighed. Today I was hanging out with my sworn enemy. Not exactly what I had planned for today, but sure, why not?

I walked over to him and looked at the backdrop. "So this is what you've been painting," I said, trying to sound interested.

He nodded. "Yep. It's slow work, and it was going to take the whole week for me to finish. But now that you're here to help me, I might get it done earlier!" He gave me a dazzling smile.

I gave him a weak smile in return. "Yeah..." He was good at making me feel guilty. Because I sure as heck felt guilty.

It would be so much easier to dislike this guy if he was a jerk. Darn him for being nice.

He handed me a paintbrush. "Ok, you take the right side, I'll take the left side. If you don't know what color goes where, just ask me."

I took the paintbrush and stared at it blankly, then I looked at the backdrop. There were some hard to see, sketchy pencil lines on the paper, so that I could tell that this would come out looking like a barn with a field behind it. Not that hard to figure out what color this stuff would be. I glanced over at Blake, who had already dipped his brush in a can of red paint and started to color in the barn.

I'd never actually painted anything before, much less a backdrop for a TV show, so I was a bit worried I'd somehow mess everything up. I dipped my paintbrush in the green paint can and started to carefully brush in between the lines.

There was silence for a while as we painted. It was half awkward silence, half comfortable silence, if that makes any sense at all. I dunno, I guess it was awkward 'cause we'd never hung out before, but comfortable because we were focusing more on painting than on each other. I don't know how to explain it. But I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, seeing as I wasn't throttling him or anything for trying to get in the way of Channy...

Yet.

It was as I finished painting in a bit of the field that Blake spoke up.

"What's your favorite fruit?"

I gave him a strange look. He'd stopped painting and was looking over at me, apparently waiting for my answer.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"What's your favorite fruit?" he repeated.

I frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

"I dunno. Just curious."

"Ok, then. Mango." I resumed my painting.

Silence.

"Why mango?"

I sighed, trying to keep my temper in check. "Because it tastes good."

"Really? I tasted it before, and I didn't like it."

"That's your problem," I muttered.

"What makes you think it tastes good?" he pressed on.

This was probably the most pointless conversation I'd ever had in my entire life. Ignoring him, I dipped my brush in the blue can of paint and proceeded to color in the sky.

Blake seemed to get that I didn't want to talk about mangoes anymore and went back to work also. The wonderful silence continued - until something splattered onto my cheek. I froze and slowly turned my head to look at Blake. He was staring guiltily back at me, his paint covered brush still in his hand. I said slowly, "Did you just flick paint on my face?"

Blake's guilty expression disappeared, to be replaced by a mischievious look that a kid would wear. "Maybe. What'cha gonna do about it?"

I didn't reply. Instead, I showed him what I was gonna do about it. Picking up a can, I leaned over and poured the whole can of the paint right onto his head. Some of the paint splashed onto the floor, but most of it found its mark, which was, well, him. I smiled as he stared at me, shocked, with yellow paint covering his hair and dripping down his face and shirt. "That answer your question?" I said innocently.

He grinned. Apparently he wasn't bothered that I'd just poured paint all over him or that he'd have to take another bath later. "Yeah. But now I feel like I should return the favor." Dipping both his hands in a random can, he started to move toward me, his hands covered in green paint and a wicked smile on his face. He moved toward me, his arms outstretched. "Gimme a hug."

I felt my eyes widen, and I backed away. "You wouldn't."

From the look on his face, it was obvious that he would.

Turning, I started to run in the opposite direction, but of course he caught me. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me closer to him and wrapped me in a big bear hug. I struggled to get away as he wiped his paint coated hands all over my own shirt. "Stop it, stop it!" I laughed, sagging a bit as my laughter made standing an impossible task. Blake supported my weight as I continued laughing and relaxed his hold on me a bit. A mistake on his part. Once I stopped cackling, I managed to release myself from his grip and immediately ran back over to the paint cans. Grabbing a brush and swabbing the whole thing in paint, I charged over to Blake, who saw what I was going to do and ran in the other direction. "You shall never catch me!" he yelled over his shoulder, darting around a table as he did so.

"Wanna bet?" I circled around the other end of the table and blocked his path. He skidded to a halt, and I took the opportunity to dab red paint across his nose. I took a good look at him and burst out laughing again. "Y-You look like Rudolph!" I giggled, my voice shaking with laughter. While I was temporarily consumed with giggles, he seized my brush from my hand and swept it over my forehead and across both of my cheeks. "And you're now red in the face," he announced, laughing also.

I knew he was going to try and get more paint on me again, so after a moment of standing there laughing at his red nose, I ran off again. But I didn't watch where I was going, so I ended up slipping on some paint that was on the floor and landing on the ground. Ouch. I was lucky I didn't break anything. I rolled over onto my back and started to get up, but Blake was immediately crouching over me, brush in hand. "Do you surrender?" he asked.

I shook my head wildly. "Nope," I said, making a popping sound at the end of the word.

He made a 'tsk tsk' noise. "Then you leave me no choice."

I totally thought he was going to paint all over my face. Turns out I was wrong. He dropped the brush and instead started to tickle my stomach.

I started laughing even harder than before, so hard that tears started to roll down my face, and tried to squirm away. Which I couldn't do, seeing as he was crouched on top of me. "Nooo, _stopppp_, I don't like being t-tickled, stopit!" I tried to say through the giggles.

He pretended not to hear and continued tickling, grinning in amusement.

Someone behind us cleared their throat.

Immediately the tickling stopped. My laughter slowly died down, and both of us looked over at the person who had just come in.

A girl with straight reddish-brown hair smirked back at us. I'd never met her before, but I vaguely recognized her from somewhere. She was wearing a red plaid T-shirt, ripped jeans, and black sneakers, and had a tote bag slung over her right shoulder. "Who's your friend, Blake?"

Blake blinked and looked back down at me, then stood and held out a hand to help me up. I took it without hesitation, and he pulled me to my feet. Huh, we probably looked hilarious together, seeing as we both had paint all over ourselves. I could only imagine what the girl was thinking as she stared at us.

"Hey, Nicole," he greeted the other girl, which made me realize who she was. I had just now met Nicole Jenson, the star of _Hoosier Girl. _That was why she looked so familiar, because she was on some of the shows posters that were all over Condor Studios. Duh.

"This isn't what it looks like," I blurted out quickly before Nicole could say anything.

She made a big show of looking around the room, then turned back to me with a raised eyebrow. "It looks like you guys had a paint war."

My shoulders slumped, half from relief that she didn't comment on the position she'd found Blake and me in when she'd entered the room, and half from sheepishness. "Then it's exactly what it looks like."

Nicole laughed. "Thought so."

"Nicole, this is Bella," Blake told his co-star. "She's a guest on - "

"So Random," Nicole finished for him, nodding. "Yeah, I've heard about you. It's nice to meet you," she said, smiling and extending her hand. I moved forward to shake it, smiling back. "Same here." I looked from Nicole to Blake, then back to Nicole. "Well, I better get goin'," I said. "Sonny and the others might have gotten here already. Bye, Nicole. And Blake," I added before practically scampering off the set.

I walked slowly back to Stage 3, wondering how on earth I'd let my guard down around _Blake_, of all people. I mean, I'd actually had fun with him back there. Yeah, that's right, I thought that paint war was _fun_.

But you know what? It made no difference at all how much fun I'd had with him today or not. Blake was still unknowingly going to try to get in the way of Sonny and Chad's relationship, I could tell. And no matter how nice of a guy he was, I couldn't let that happen.

No flippin' way.

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**This isn't my favorite chapter, but it came out pretty good. Compared to how it was when I first started writing it, anyway. Sorry that there's no Channy in here, but it was necessary that you guys see how Bella and Blake get along when they're actually alone together, and how Blake is actually a nice guy (despite popular belief that he is evil for trying to ask Sonny out). **

**But you'll forgive me for the lack of Channy when the later chapters come. ^^**

**Also, the paint war idea came from something Bella said a few chapters back, about how she wanted to pour a bucket of paint on Blake's head. I didn't think much of that statement at the time, but I actually used that idea to make this. xD**

**Ok, then, review please and tell me what you think! **


	18. One Little Slip

**New chapter! :D I finally finished this one. I've been waiting ages to write this chapter, pretty much ever since I first began the story. This is what gave me the idea for the story in the first place. So I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! **

**Also, I'll be writing more, now that it's summer and I have free time on my hands. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SWAC.**

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Sonny's POV

"All right, kids, cut!" Marshall called out from where he was standing, which was by the snack table (big surprise... not). "Great job today! That's some funny stuff right there. This show's gonna go off without a hitch!" He nodded in confirmation of his own words, then popped a Cheeto into his mouth and wandered off the set.

I put down my script, beaming at everyone else. "I love this new sketch!" I gushed.

As you may have guessed, we had just finished our first rehearsal of the Romeo and Juliet sketch. I'd finally finished working out all the kinks in the script, and it was all good to go.

Bella beamed back at me from where she was standing, looking pleased with herself. I felt proud of her. She'd done a good job, a better job than I'd expected. Definitely a born actress. Also, I was glad that she was happier. Earlier, I'd been sitting in the Prop House, reading the jokes section of Readers Digest, when Bella had trudged past, covered in paint from head to toe. I had nearly laughed at how ridiculous she looked, but I managed not to. "Do I really want to know?" I'd asked.

She'd shaken her head in irritation. "Not really."

I assume after that she went to take a nice little shower. Speaking of which, Marshall still won't tell me how they managed to get a bathtub in the studio. I guess some things are just better left unsaid.

Anywho, whatever had happened to her that morning, it seemed like she'd put it behind her, which was good.

Meanwhile, Tawni didn't look as pleased as Bella did. "Well, I don't. How come my role is so tiny? I deserve a bigger part! I'm the star! I've been here for years, and she's been here for a week!" she hissed, pointing at Bella, who didn't seem at all bothered by Tawni's anger. "This is an outrage!"

I gave Tawni the part of the girl who Romeo admires in the beginning of the story. You know, the girl that no one really knows about or cares about. I gave her that part on purpose, hehe.

I sighed. "Tawni..." I started to say, but she'd already stalked off the set in a huff. I shook my head. I guess I'd have to make this up to her later. Oh, well, it wasn't really my top priority at the moment.

"I like this sketch," Grady said, grinning lopsidedly at me. "I've always wanted to play a pizza guy in a time when there was no pizza!"

Beside him, Nico nodded in agreement, though I noticed he looked a bit put out. As I'd promised, I'd inserted a scene in the sketch where Juliet (aka Bella) had to kiss Romeo (aka Nico), but Bella had refused to rehearse the actual kiss. Her excuse was that she'd rather do it in front of the live audience. I guess she just wanted to put it off for as long as she could. So instead of kissing him in the rehearsal, she just gave him a high five.

Poor Nico.

I gave Grady a thumbs up, then said, "Well, I'm gonna go eat now. Anyone wanna come with me?"

Bella bounced up and down. "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!"

I grinned and pointed at her. "How about you?"

She pumped her fist in the air. "Yesss!" She grabbed her bag off of a nearby chair and rushed over to my side eagerly.

Nico shook his head. "We already ate. Grady and me are gonna go buy some new video games. See ya later, Sonny! And Bella," he added, smiling at her. He visibly perked up when she smiled back, and then he and Grady were gone.

As we made our way down the hallway, heading towards the cafeteria, Bella glanced at me. "Sonny, didn't you say earlier that you were going to tell me something after the rehearsal?"

I smirked. "Oh, yeah, that's right." I paused, leaving her hanging for a moment.

"Aw, come on Sonny, spill it!" she begged. "I want to know!"

My eyes twinkled. "Guess."

"Ok... you like llamas!"

"Wow. That was random. That's not it, though."

"Yeah, I thought that probably wouldn't be it... ooh, we're about to go eat lunch!"

I laughed. "That's true, but not what I was thinking about."

Bella frowned and briefly put her head in her hands, then grinned. "I know! You like Chad!"

Ok, really? "That's not - I don't - that's irrelevant - " I stuttered, my voice sounding very high pitched. I coughed before saying in a slightly deeper tone, "No, I do not like Chad. Stop saying that! Anyway, that's not it either."

She rolled her eyes, then sighed and shrugged. "I give up. What is it?"

Glad that she'd quit talking about Chad, I grinned and pulled out the letter I'd received that morning from my pocket. She stared at it blankly. "A piece of paper?"

"Not just any piece of paper," I said, smiling as I unfolded the letter and read it aloud. "To Sonny Munroe: You are invited to my 17th birthday bash this Thursday! If you decide not to come, that's ok, but it'd be great if you did. Bring a gift! And a friend, too, if you'd like. Directions to my house are enclosed on the back." I looked up at Bella and finished brightly, "Sincerely, Selena Gomez."

Bella's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "No way!" she gasped, snatching the letter out of my hands and scanning over the words, as if she hadn't believed what I'd just read.

"Yes way," I said, giggling at how quickly her expression changed from shock to awe and then to eagerness. "Holy crud, Sonny! Selena Gomez invited you to her birthday party! You guys must be tight!"

I shrugged modestly. "Not really. I mean, she was going to play me in Chad's life story movie, and we talked a bit..." That was definitely an understatement. "But we aren't too close yet. She's very nice, though."

"Selena Gomez invited you to her birthday party!" Bella repeated in an awestruck tone.

I took the letter back from her and gestured to one of the lines on the page. "That's not the best part. I get to bring a friend." I grinned at her. "Guess who that friend will be."

She looked back at me hopefully. "Uh... me?"

I shook my head. "No, Bob the Builder," I said seriously, before smiling again. "Of course you!"

Bella squealed and grabbed my hands, jumping up and down and yelling, "Oh my gosh, this is so awesome!" Then she ran off down the hallway, stopping occassionally to excitedly inform random people, "Hey, guess what, I'm going to Selena Gomez's birthday party and you aren't! HA!"

I laughed and bounded after her. Once I caught up to her, I held up my hand, inviting her to give me a high five, which she promptly did. "I hope you have a nice dress picked out, Bella."

"I'm sure I've got something," she said, smiling happily. I smiled back. If anyone had passed us in the hallway, they probably would've thought we were twins because of the identical mega-watt smiles we wore on our faces. I'm not even kidding.

"And to make things even better, we have waffles for lunch!" Bella said happily, waving her hands in the air. "Come on, let's go stuff ourselves!"

Arm in arm, we skipped down the hallway like a couple of children, loudly singing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah as we went.

Oh, it was good to have someone like me around the studio.

Bella's POV

After eating our fill of waffles (we both piled our plates high with them, and I coated mine with extra syrup), Sonny and I made our way back to the Prop House. I was kind of disappointed, because Chad had been nowhere in the cafeteria, and I'd been hoping to somehow get him and Sonny to talk to each other. The thing was, I'd kinda run out of ideas for stuff to get them together. Seriously, my flowing river of creative juices had finally reached a dam.

But that was ok! I was going to Selena Gomez's birthday party! WHOO!

As you can see, I was very excited about that piece of news.

Entering this contest was the best choice I'd ever made in my whole entire life. And it was impulsive, too. Impulsive is the best way to go, baby! No thoughts required, just go ahead and do it!

Anyway, as Sonny and I entered Stage 3, we stopped for a little bathroom break in one of the public restrooms. As we went in the girl's restroom, I nearly slipped on a puddle of water. But I managed to catch myself before I fell on my face. "Who put that there?" I said without thinking. I know, it was a stupid thing to say. I don't care, though.

Anyway, I went in one stall, and Sonny went in another. I came out a few seconds after. When I use the restroom, I don't take long at all. I quickly washed my hands before saying, "Sonny, I'll be outside, ok?"

"Ok," came Sonny's voice from inside the stall, so I exited the bathroom.

As I pushed open the door, I heard a small 'thump' noise. I looked down to see the sign for the girl's restroom laying on the ground. I blinked, looking at the sign, then at the nail on the door to the restroom. Somehow, the sign must have fallen off when I opened the door. I picked it up. It had a string attached to it on both top corners. I took the string and hung it back on its nail, then stood back and admired my handiwork.

As I looked, a little thought occured to me. You know, I'd never actually pranked anyone before then. I'd always wanted to prank someone. I saw people do it on TV all the time, and it looked really fun! So why couldn't I try it now? I looked back and forth from the girl's restroom sign and the boy's restroom sign, both of which hung on their respectable doors by their own little nail. I grinned as the perfect prank idea popped into my head.

I glanced around, checking to make sure no one was around. Then I casually (but quickly, mind you) switched the signs. Easy as that. I beamed as I looked at the doors. Now the girl's restroom appeared to be the boy's restroom, and the boy's restroom appeared to be the girl's restroom. Perfect. Anyone who wanted to use the restroom was going to get really surprised.

I have to say, I was a prank genius.

As I was standing there, I suddenly heard whistling. I turned sharply to see someone rounding the corner. I couldn't tell who the person was, or if it was a he or a she. But that person could possibly have been my first prank victim! If he or she needed to use the restroom, of course. As the person got closer, I was pretty sure it was a guy, but I still couldn't really tell. I looked around for something to hide behind, like a large potted plant. Unfortunately, the hallway was clear. Darn it. That meant there was only one place to go to.

I raced back into the girl's restroom (or the boy's restroom now, as the sign stated), carefully jumped over the large puddle of water, and went into a stall. I closed the stall door, locked it, then closed the toilet seat and sat on the lid, fidgeting excitedly and crossing my fingers as I waited. I silently willed that person to come into the restroom. Because after all the disappointments I'd had recently, I deserved a really good, long laugh.

Chad's POV

I walked down the hallway, whistlings as I held up a spoon to my face and gazed at my reflection in it. I waggled my eyebrows at my reflection. I was definitely one hot guy. I was too hot to handle. I had to bring a fan with me wherever I went, otherwise no one could bear to be in my presence because of the extreme hotness. No lie.

Now, I'm sure you'd think I might bump into something, what with the fact that I was staring at myself in a spoon as I was walking. But I didn't bump into anything, because I'm just that good.

Why was I at Stage 3? Well, I hate to admit it, but I wanted to check in on Sonny. Usually if she's at the So Random Prop House hanging out with her little fun hut buddies, I go in and we have one of our 'good' 'good' 'fine' 'fine' fights. Those fights are probably the highlights of my days here. Don't ever tell Sonny that, though. She'd probably get the wrong idea and think I have feelings for her. Or something like that. You can never tell with her.

Anyway, as I walked, I paused by the restrooms. It was probably a good idea to use the bathroom. I didn't actually need to go too badly, but still. I didn't want to visit Sonny with anything in my bladder. Usually I don't use any restroom besides my clean, private one (who knows how many germs are in these public bathrooms? I could get sick. Perfect people like Chad Dylan Cooper do _not _get sick), but this was an exception.

With that in mind, I tucked my trusty spoon in my pants pocket and began to push open one of the doors. But I stopped short when I saw the sign, which clearly had the word 'GIRLS' on it in huge red letters. I blinked. Well, that was weird. I could've sworn this had been the boy's restroom last time I'd passed by here. I shrugged, then pushed open the door opposite and entered.

The moment I walked in, I saw a large mirror above the sinks and rushed over. I smiled as my clear reflection greeted me. Ah, much better. My spoon was great, of course, but it just didn't give as great a reflection as a good old glass mirror did. I ran my fingers carefully through my hair, then patted it and smiled in satisfaction. Perfect. Of course, I was always perfect.

I can't do anything without being perfect. I'm just better than everyone else in that way. Even the air I breathe is better. Some may beg to differ, saying that the air is the same everywhere. But don't listen to those geeks. The air I breathe is better because _I'm _the one that's breathing it. The rest of the air is lame.

True story.

So as I gazed at my gorgeous self, I heard a stall door squeak open behind me. I glanced behind me for a second and nearly had a heart attack. I jerked back in horror. "What are you doing here!" I yelled.

Sonny Munroe stared at me, a shocked expression on her face. She jumped as the stall door slammed shut behind her, then gasped, "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"I'm about to use the restroom!"

"Wha - but this is the girl's restroom!" She glared at me, obviously getting over her shock.

"No, it's not, this is the boy's restroom!" I countered back.

"I'm pretty sure this is the girl's restroom!"

"The sign on the door said it's the boy's!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does!"

We glared at each other. Obviously I was right. I'm always right, so Sonny had to be wrong. This was definitely the bathroom for guys.

Sonny folded her arms. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have a private restroom somewhere?"

"Yes, but I was passing through and this was the only place I could go to do my business," I scoffed. I was calming down, though I was still indignant.

She rested her back against the wall and narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, really? And you decided to come in the girl's restroom?"

"I told you, the sign said - !" Then I sighed. "Never mind, just drop it." I looked at her, and I involuntarily wondered how it was possible for her to look so cute in a restroom. "Well, I'm just going to go now, then," I said, laughing nervously. Whether it was a boy's restroom or not, it was still weird to be in here alone with Sonny. I had to get out of here before someone walked in and saw us together in here. That wouldn't be good.

"Ok," Sonny nodded. I was about to leave, but then Sonny said, "Hey, Chad, wait!" She stretched her hand out and started walking towards me. "There's something I want to tell you - " As she spoke, her foot slipped in a puddle on the floor. Her eyes widened as she fell forward. Without a second's thought, I strode towards her, stretched out my arms, and caught her right before she hit the floor. I pulled her upright and held her in my arms. I wasn't even thinking about how this was my rival I was basically/kinda/sorta embracing. All I was thinking about was how warm her body was next to mine, and how soft her hair was against my hand. That's all I could really focus on at that moment. One of my weak moments, I suppose. "Got'cha," I murmured.

I felt her stiffen against me, but she slowly started to relax. "Thanks," she mumbled, looking up at me. I met her gaze. Her eyes were really, really brown. Like chocolate. Did I ever mention that I love chocolate? "No problem."

"Y-You can let go of me now, Chad," she said in a fairly high pitched voice. I ignored what she'd said. This felt too nice for me to let go. Why hadn't I done this ages ago? "So what was it you wanted to tell me, Munroe?"

She stared at me with her wide brown eyes. "Um... I can't remember," she whispered.

I'm not really sure what made me do. I'll blame Sonny, I guess. When I do something stupid it's always her fault, especially when she's looking at me with those huge brown eyes of hers and... and her soft skin and her perfect lips. All HER FAULT.

So because of her dumb cuteness, I did the stupidest thing possible. I leaned down and kissed her.

Sonny's POV

I've never kissed anyone before. Unless you count that one time with Hayden, but I don't count that. Because... well, because it doesn't count. I was forced to kiss him! I mean, come on, what else was I supposed to do? Those people wouldn't leave us alone! Stupid Kiss Cam.

Besides, I didn't feel anything when I kissed him. So it means nothing. It basically never happened.

I would love to say that I felt nothing when Chad kissed me, that I didn't enjoy it.

Of course, if I said that, it would be a complete lie.

I don't know what on earth possessed him to do it, especially in the _bathroom_, for crying out loud. Not a very romantic choice, Chad. Not that I care or anything. And that kiss was way out of the blue, I didn't even expect it. I was just talking to him, about to pull away from him and get the heck out of there, when all of a sudden... BAM! His lips are on mine.

It was... wonderful. And weird. But wonderful. I think I made a squeaking noise when he kissed me and tried to pull away, but he just held on tighter. I was panicking pretty badly. And that's about the time when I felt myself liking it. I closed my eyes and sort of leaned into the kiss. His lips were really soft. And the kiss was gentle and sweet, like every first kiss should be.

We just stood there for a while, in the public girl's restroom (not the boy's), our arms around each other as we... did that. I don't remember when it was that he pulled away. All I can remember was that he took his lips off of mine, which I was upset about at the time (obviously I was delirious), and stared at me with a stunned expression. I looked back at him, my own eyes just as wide as his. _Did we just...? _I thought in bewilderment.

Then Chad let go of my shoulders and backed away. He almost slipped in some of the water on the floor, but managed to catch himself before he fell. Then he turned and quickly walked out without another word.

I stared as the door swung shut behind him, then rested heavily against one of the stall doors and touched my lips. They were tingling a bit. I wasn't sure if that was a bad sign or not. I tried to arrange my thoughts, which had suddenly become all jumbled up and confused.

Why had he kissed me? He didn't like me! And I certainly didn't like him!

I think.

No! No, I did NOT like him!

I didn't want to think about it anymore. I walked out of the bathroom, still in a daze, so much so that I forgot to open the door at first and banged my head against it. Rubbing my noggin, I paused in the hallway and looked around. Chad was nowhere in sight. He'd probably gone back to the Mackenzie Falls set. My thoughts wandered back to that unexpected kiss again, and I sighed. I distracted myself by looking around for Bella. She was gone, too. She'd probably went back to the Prop House without me. I headed off down the hall, still thinking about that kiss and trying to persuade myself that I didn't care about it. I hadn't felt anything, and I had not liked it.

I guess I don't have great persuasion skills, because I didn't believe myself.

As I walked, I bumped into someone and jumped back, thinking it was Chad. "What do you want?" I asked in high voice, then peered at the person in front of me. Oh. That wasn't Chad. "Hi, Blake."

He smiled at me. "Hey, Sonny! I've been looking for you everywhere. I've been wanting to ask you something..." He cleared his throat. "Um, would you like to go out with me tonight? I understand if you don't want to, but - "

"Yes," I said quickly, cutting him off. This was the perfect distraction. A date with a guy I was actually interested in was just what I needed to get my mind off Chad's random kiss. Stupid Chad. I bet he was just trying to mess with my mind. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Oh," Blake said, looking pleased. "That's great. Well, I was thinking about going to this restaurant that just opened up near the studio."

"Anything's good. That's great. Thanks, Blake." I managed to give him a half smile. Gosh, I was still thinking about stupid Chad! I hated that obnoxious jerk.

Blake smiled back at me. "Ok, so I'll pick you up in your Prop House at seven."

I nodded. "Sure. Ok, bye." I quickly walked off, deciding against going to the Prop House and heading to my dressing room instead. When I got in, Tawni thankfully wasn't there. I sank into the leopard print chair and stared at the wall. Finally, something registered in my mind. I had a date tonight. I had to get ready.

I stood up and opened my closet, checking to see if there was anything nice in there. I picked out a dress and looked down at it, fiddling with the fabric. Then I looked up at the mirror nearby, staring at my reflection. I looked pale. I touched my cheek with one hand and found myself saying aloud, "I don't like Chad. I don't. He's my enemy, and it would never work out. Ok, Sonny? Got it? Good." I nodded at my reflection.

With that said, I went to work preparing for my date with Blake, successfully averting my thoughts from Chad.

As far as I was concerned, my first kiss had never happened.

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**Love it? Like it? Hate it? Review, please! **


	19. The beauty that is jealousy

**New chapter! Yes.**

**I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get that many reviews for the last chapter, but I guess that's to be expected. I hadn't updated for a while on this story. So, sorry about that. But I'm trying to update regularly this summer, so I hope you guys review more. c: Well, enjoy!**

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**Bella's POV**

Holy crud.

That was my first reaction.

They'd _kissed. _

They'd actually kissed!

AH!

I honestly still can't believe my luck. I hadn't even been trying to play matchmaker, I was just attempting to pull a prank. Gosh, my prank worked out better than I ever would've thought! Because Chad's face when Sonny came out was freaking priceless, hehe. And then all of a sudden, as I watched through a crack in the bathroom stall, he'd kissed her! And she'd kissed him back! I nearly had a fangirl spasm. Or a heart attack. Or both.

So I got a good laugh and I achieved my goal!

I HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL!

Those two couldn't possibly continue to stay in denial after that kiss.

Man, even when I'm not trying, I am so good. I'm not even bragging. It's just a fact of life.

Hmm... I'm starting to sound like Chad now. I think he's rubbing off on me. Ah, well.

I walked out of the stall, carefully avoiding the water on the floor, then barged out into the hallway and ran all the way to the Prop House. I had a huge grin on my face, and my thoughts were full of the awesomeness that is Channy. I was so busy thinking about my success that I completely forgot to switch back the signs on the bathroom doors.

Heh. Whoops.

I'm sure it wasn't too much of a problem, though. I hope.

Anyway.

I ran into the Prop House, thinking that Sonny would be there. Naturally, I was wrong. The only person there was Tawni. Eh.

"Hey, Tawni," I said kind of unenthusiastically. "Where's Sonny?"

I realized too late that it was kind of pointless to ask Tawni anything, since she still refused to talk to me. All she did was briefly glare at me before returning her gaze to the television, which was on Tween Weekly TV.

I shrugged before heading to Sonny's dressing room. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. So I knocked and asked, "Sonny, you in there?"

I didn't get a reply, but the door did unlock. So I opened it and went inside.

Sonny was standing in front of the mirror, holding out an outfit in front of her as though she were trying to see how it looked on her. She looked over and smiled at me as I came in. "Hey, Bella. Sorry I didn't go meet you in the Prop House, I just wanted to, um, rest."

Meet me in the Prop House? "Huh? What do you mean - ? Oh." That's right, I'd told her I was going to go to the Prop House, which I had been going to do, but then I decided to set up a prank and whatnot... "Oh, yeah. Psh. It's fine, Sonny, don't sweat it." I waved a hand dismissively, and she smiled again. Though from her expression it looked like she was thinking about something else. I didn't really blame her, I suppose. She'd just happened to finally kiss the love of her life, so she had every right to be lost in thought.

Then I noticed the clothes that were piled in a heap on the sofa. "What're all these clothes doing out here?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm getting ready for my date tonight." She fingered one of the straps on the outfit she was holding, then placed it on the pile and picked up a purple patterned dress.

A huge grin popped onto my face. "A _date_? Already?" I bounced on the balls of my feet gleefully. "Oh my gosh, wow! He asked you out that quickly? Awh, how cute! You two make such a great couple, Sonny. I'm so happy for you guys!"

Sonny gave me an odd look. "You are? I thought you didn't want us to go out on a date."

"What?" I stared at her. "When the heck did I say that?"

"Yesterday. And the day before that. And possibly the day before the the day that was before the day that was before today."

"Could you repeat that?" I asked her blankly.

Sonny kind of laughed. "My point is, a few days ago you were telling me he isn't the right guy for me."

I'm sorry, what? When did I...?

...oh, no.

No, no, no, no, no.

Please tell me she wasn't talking about who I thought she was talking about. _Pleeeaaassseeee._

"Sonny, who is this guy you're going on a date with?" I asked her slowly.

"Blake." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Didn't I tell you that already?"

I gaped at her for a second, then cleared my throat. "Oh. Ok." I forced a smile onto my face. "Well, that's great, Sonny. So... when's this date again?"

"Tonight at seven o'clock. We\re going to the new restaurant that opened up around the corner," she told me, looking back at her reflection in the mirror. Then she returned her gaze to me. "Do you think this outfit looks ok on me? Do I look like I'm trying too hard? Or do I look too casual? Because I want to look perfect for this."

"You look fine, Sonny." I gave her a thumbs up, then started to back out the door. "I guess I'm gonna go to my room now... give you some alone time. Uh, have fun tonight!"

"Thanks, Bella," she said. I didn't wait for her to say anything else, though, since I couldn't keep up the facade anymore. I quickly left the dressing room and closed the door behind me. Then I leaned aganst the wall and facepalmed. "Urgh. Great. Just great."

Success? Who was I trying to kid? Of course they'd still be in denial. One little kiss wasn't going to change their whole relationship; they were too stubborn for that. And even worse, Blake managed to ask Sonny out, the one thing I swore I would not let happen.

That was it, then. What more could I possibly do for them? My time here was almost up, and I was completely out of ideas.

_It's over, Bella. You just lost the game, _I thought. Then I trudged over to the Prop House.

I was hoping that Tawni wouldn't be there. Unfortunately, she was. But her eyes were still glued to the TV (not literally, of course), so I figured she wouldn't notice if I walked in and sat down on the couch.

Boy, was I wrong.

The minute I sat down, she whipped her head around to glare at me. "You're ruining my concentration. Go back to where you came from."

"Make me," I muttered back.

"Believe me, honey, I'm connected. I can find a way to make you leave." She gave me a fake sweet smile.

"Tawni, I'm not in the mood, ok?" I said, looking over at her. "I don't want to fight with you. And just to make things clear, I have absolutely no intention of stealing your spotlight. I don't want to replace you. So would you please just get off my back?"

Tawni blinked at me. "So... you're not here to destroy my career?"

Oh, my God. How thick could you get? "Haven't you been listening to me at all these past few days? Of course not! I came here because I entered a contest. I'm not a career destroyer." When she didn't say anything, I sighed. "Look, all I wanted to do was have a great week here at So Random. And then of course I have to get involved in some other people's problems, which takes up pretty much all my time, and just when I think I've fixed everything, it ends up in disaster! I'm a failure." I glared down at my hands.

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Tawni said, "Well, anyone can see you're a failure."

"Thank you, Tawni. You're too kind."

"No problem." She paused, then added in a reluctant sounding voice, "But I'm sorry."

I looked over at her in surprise. "You just apologized to me. Did you hit your head on something? Want me to call 911?"

She actually smiled. "As long as you aren't here to replace me, then I guess I can get along with you." She paused again. "Well, maybe. Probably not."

I smiled at her. "It's the thought that matters, I guess. Thanks, Tawni." I sighed. "Too bad I still failed."

Tawni looked at me thoughtfully. I think she was about to say something, but then Grady and Nico walked into the room. Nico grinned at the sight of us. "Man, G, look at that! They're in a room together without killing each other. I won the bet!" He held out his hand, and Grady reluctantly slapped a small amount of money in his hand.

I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that they made a bet about _that_. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Bella!" they both said together. Then Nico smiled. "So, Tawni, did you tell her about how you were jealous of her?"

I turned to stare at Tawni, who's face had turned red. "What?" she laughed. "Jealous? Of her? Please. I don't do jealousy. And besides, I'm much better than she could ever be."

Grady looked confused. "Well, yeah, but didn't you say the other day that - ?"

"Oh, look at the time!" Tawni exclaimed suddenly, looking down at her wrist (which, I must point out, did not have a watch). "I have a manicure scheduled in a bit. I'm afraid I have to go. Goodbye, Nico, Grady. Oh, and you." She nodded to me before strutting out of the Prop House.

"Yeah, ok. Bye." It was funny how when Nico mentioned the word 'jealous', something kinda stirred in my mind. I guess the dam blocking my river of creative juices had disappeared or something, because all of a sudden an idea popped into my mind. The fact that I hadn't thought about it earlier was kind of stupid, actually.

I jumped up. "Oh my gosh, that's it! He just needs to get jealous, and everything will work from there!" I grinned at Nico, who'd pretty much given me the idea in the first place. "Nico, I could kiss you! Thank you so much!"

Nico blinked. "Uh, well, I have no idea what half of what you just said was, but I won't say no to a kiss."

I didn't really hear what he said, because I'd already gone rushing out of the room.

I was back in business!

**Chad's POV**

I kissed Sonny Munroe.

I _kissed _Sonny Munroe.

_I _kissed Sonny Munroe.

I kissed _Sonny Munroe._

No matter how many different ways I said it, it still sounded like something I would never, ever do.

But I did. Which is what creeps me out.

What was I even thinking? That's it, I _wasn't _thinking. I had had a moment of brief insanity, which had led to me... doing that.

Yep. That was it.

I was sitting on my director's chair in the Mack Falls backstage area, sipping a loganberry smoothie and trying to relax.

It was hard to relax, though, when I'd just gone and kissed my enemy in a bathroom.

A BATHROOM.

What the heck was wrong with me?

Ironically, Portlyn chose that moment to walk up to me and ask, "What's wrong with you?"

I stared at her. "What?"

"You heard me." She folded her arms. "You've been zoning out. We just had one of the worst rehearsals ever. So what's up?" Then she added sympathetically, "Oh, did you have that dream with the hippos and Zac Efron again?"

"Portlyn!" I hissed, glaring at her. "Are you stupid? I told you never to mention that." I shuddered, then went on. "And no, I didn't. I'm perfectly fine."

She raised her eyebrows, not even reacting to me calling her stupid. I guess she was used to it. "Whatever. See ya, Chad."

"Uh huh," I said, then watched as she left the room. I looked down at my smoothie. "You're supposed to help me relax. What's wrong with you?" I berated it. Kind of pointless, now that I think about it, since smoothies can't talk. But I was going through a personal crisis here, ok?

"Hey, Chad."

I sighed, annoyed. "What do you want now, Portlyn?" I stood up and turned around to face her, ready to do something drastic if she didn't quit bugging me -

Oh, wait. That wasn't Portlyn.

The girl from So Random, Bella, smiled at me. "How's it goin'?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What are you doing here?" A sudden thought came to mind. "Did Sonny send you here?" I asked suspiciously. This was probably all part of her plan. She'd used her stupid cuteness to charm me into... doing that thing with her, knowing it would get me all worked up. And now she'd sent her little pal to come spy on me.

"Huh?" Bella looked confused. Then she smiled again. "Oh, sure. Sure, she sent me. She wanted me to ask you a question."

I tensed. A question? Did she want to know if I liked the kiss? Did she want me to kiss her again? Or did she want to ask how I could possibly be such an amazing kisser?

It was probably the last one.

"Ok, then, what's the question?" I nodded to Bella, giving her permission to ask her little question.

"Oh, well, she wants to know if you've been to that restaurant that just recently opened up near the studio."

What?

Oh. She didn't want to know anything about the kiss. Huh. Ok. "No," I said, attempting nonchalance. "Why does she want to know?"

Bella smiled sweetly at me. "Well, she's going on a date with Blake there tonight, and she wants to know beforehand which meal is the best to choose from. She thought you'd probably been there before, since you're the greatest actor of our generation and all, so she decided to send me to ask you. Because she's getting ready. For her date. With _Blake._"

It took a second to let that sink in. When it did, I stared at her in surprise. "Wait. Sonny's going on a date? With... Blake?"

"Yeah, tonight at seven o'clock, at the new restaurant that just opened up," she said cheerfully. "She told me it'll be a perfect date, that nothing could possibly ruin it. Because if her date was ruined, then she might never go out with him again. Ever." She nodded solemnly. "That would be terrible, huh?"

I nodded, an idea already growing in my mind. "Yeah. Definitely."

"Anyway," Bella continued. "That's all she wanted to know. Thanks for your time, Chad. Want me to tell her that you hope she has a good time at her date tonight? Which just happens to be at seven o'clock. In that new restaurant."

I gave her an odd look. "Why do you keep repeating that?"

Bella blinked rapidly. "Oh, um, just in case it didn't, uh, sink in yet. I thought it'd be good for you to know. Because isn't Chad Dylan Cooper supposed to know everything?"

"Well, that is true." I smiled at her. "Thanks for coming to me. Sure, wish Sonny luck on her date for me."

She beamed at me. "Okie dokie, then! Night, Chad!" With that, she skipped out of the room.

I placed my smoothie on a nearby table, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then snuck out and made my way to the So Random Prop House. Sonny was making a big mistake going out with that loser. I had to help her see that, just because I'm such a nice guy and all. But in order to help her, I was going to need a disguise...

Blake Whateveryourlastnameis, you are going down.

* * *

**Ohoho. Kind of a cliffie. Sort of. **

**Please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update. :D**


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